EOTO 3 Reaction

During the Civil Rights Era of the United States, the country was divided again between the supports and opponents of the movement. As the nation was approaching a century since the end of the civil war, the remnants of the old south were still present. While the northern states were the most progressive, many areas in the southern states were still stuck in time. The civil rights movement had a lot of opposition, especially from the Ku Klux Klan. Throughout the extent of the American Civil Rights Era, the Klan and other white supremacy groups committed horrific events against the African American community and its supporters. 

One of the worst displays of violence by the Klan was the 16th Street Baptist Street Church Bombing in 1963. In Birmingham, Alabama on September 15th, four members of the Ku Klux Klan detonated a bomb that had been planted under the steps of the church. The bomb detonated around 11 A.M., killing 4 young African American girls and injuring 22 more. 

Aftermath of the Bombing

The four Klan members involved in the attack planted 19 sticks of dynamite, rigged to explode due to a timing device, under the east steps of the church. Three out of the four men behind the attack were not prosecuted until 1977, and none were imprisoned until 2001 and 2002. One of the four men, Herman Cash, died before he was convicted.

Of course, this tragic event exerted mass grief among supporters of the Civil Rights movement. Martin Luther King Jr. described the tragedy as "one of the most viscous and tragic crimes perpetrated against humanity" While the 1964 Civil Rights Act would be passed only the next year, this chaotic era of United States history unfortunately claimed many lives. 

Martin Luther King Jr.