16th Street Baptist Church 50th anniversary
Little Known Black History Fact: 16th Street Baptist Church – 50 Years Later
Share the post
Share this link via
Or copy link
It was fifty years ago on September 15, 1963 that the historic 16th Street Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama was blown away, taking the lives of four little girls. The names of Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson, Addie Mae Collins, and Denise McNair – young victims of hate – are forever carved in history. The men who planted the 19 sticks of dynamite were brought to justice by Ret. police Sgt. Ben Herren and senior FBI agent Bill Flemming. Nineteen other churchgoers were injured in the blast, some taken immediately to the hospital. Their names were never nationally known as survivors of the vicious crime.
Robert “Dynamite” Chambliss was convicted 15 months later. In 2000, KKK member Bobby Cherry was arrested followed by Thomas Blanton in 2002. Chambliss and Cherry died in prison while Blanton serves a life sentence.
The bombing not only shook the nation, but it reached overseas to the heart of a man named John Petts. He was in Wales, 4,000 miles from the scene of the crime.
Love Majic 102.3? Get more! Join the Majic 102.3 Newsletter
We care about your data. See our privacy policy.
Between the bombing and 1964, John Petts visited the church in Alabama. Clueless as to how he would approach the project, Petts consulted Matthew 25:40 and saw the amazing vision of the stained glass window in his mind. In 1965, John Petts installed a stained glass window picturing an African American Jesus Christ with one hand stretched out against hatred and the other offering forgiveness. It was a groundbreaking scene for the 1960s, especially since Southern Baptist whites would most likely be against the scene of a black Lord and Savior.
The stained glass window still sits proudly at 16th Street Baptist Church, representing international unity and the lives lost that September in 1963. John Petts passed away in 1991.
This past May, President Obama signed legislation that awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to the four little girls.
Little Known Black History Fact: 16th Street Baptist Church – 50 Years Later was originally published on ioneblackamericaweb.staging.go.ione.nyc