Destination Freedom...Four Little Girls



Plaque commemorating the four girls killed in the 16th Street
Baptist Church Bombing

Our kickoff for the Destination Freedom series is scheduled for one week from today on Sunday, Sept. 15. The timing of the event is meant to be commemorative.

If you have been following this blog and the Civil Rights timeline, the reasons are insurmountable. On Sept. 15, 1963, the 16^th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, was bombed after the KKK planted dynamite in the church’s basement. The bombing killed four young girls: Addie Mae Collins, 14; Denise McNair, 11; Carole Robertson, 14; and Cynthia Wesley, 14.

News of the bombing shook the nation. Everyone, including Dr. King, heard what happened and then had to ponder: what kind of hate and racism would allow the killing of young girls at their church on a Sunday morning?

Yet despite the public outrage, it took years to convict the perpetrators of the crime. It has taken years more to answer other questions that the tragedy brings to the fore:

Have we as a nation made it possible for young people (of every color) to feel safer?

Are those who would use violence to further their ideology more likely to be brought to justice today?

Who else, or where else, might be a target for those looking to send a message of fear?



The aftermath of the dynamite explosion at 16th Street Baptist
Church in Birmingham, Alabama

The 16^th Street Church bombing was a significant event in 1963, and it still has reverberations today. Coming after the successful Children’s March and Birmingham campaign (where the 16th Street Baptist Church played a critical role as a meeting place for activists) and the success of the iconic March on Washington, the bombing reminded many of how much work was left undone and how much harm activists were putting themselves in the way of. It also reminded many of what was truly at stake with civil rights: the ability not just to protect those 4 girls but all children so they can grow up in a world free from the dangers their skin color could cause.

In May 2013, President Barack Obama awarded the four girls The Congressional Gold Medal, one of the nation’s highest civilian honors. Read about this historic honor here. 

That is one of the many ways the girls’ legacy is being honored. Today from 2:30-4:30 p.m. Levine Museum will host a screening of the film 4 Little Girls. The documentary, directed by Spike Lee, looks at the lives, loss and continued impact of the bombing.

Share your thoughts with us on Twitter @LevineMuseum. Follow along using the hashtag #DestinationFreedom.
You can also find us at Facebook.com/Levine Museum to RSVP to the screening and learn more about the Destination Freedom series.

See you on the 15^th for the kickoff!

Destination Freedom: Civil Rights Struggles Then and Now

2013 marks the year of many anniversaries of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s. The most famous of these anniversaries will include the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington where the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., gave his “I Have a Dream" speech.

Dr. King, March on Washington, 1963

To commemorate that event and the various other civil rights anniversaries from Alabama to Mississippi to North Carolina, Levine Museum of the New South will begin a series of exhibitions and programs known as Destination Freedom that will highlight the aims of the Civil Rights movement then, and the issues we face today.

Destination Freedom will create a cohesive history of the movement for civil rights and the parallels to today. One exhibit in the series, Network of Mutuality: 50 Years Post-Birmingham will be the first that will bring to life—through art—what Birmingham in 1963 meant for the nation. This exhibit will coincide with our film series that will document many different facets of the movement.

With movies such as "4 Little Girls," (screenings are scheduled for Sept. 5 and 8) which tells of the life of the tragic death of 4 little girls in the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, the film series offers a chance to learn about history and then participate in discussions with community members and scholars about what the stories can teach us.

To raise the banner about all of our programming, one month from today on September 15, the Levine Museum will host its Destination Freedom kickoff; featuring keynote speaker Diane Nash, former SNCC organizer.  Along with Nash there will also be a panel of Civil Rights activists representing “then” and “now.”  All will share their stories of activism during the 1960’s and what the fight looks like today.

Want to attend the opening? Visit us on Facebook www.facebook.com/LevineMuseum to get more Destination Freedom details.

Join the conversation and exploration of civil rights (then and now) on Twitter @LevineMuseum. Follow along using the hashtag #DestinationFreedom.