September 15, 1963. "It could have been a regular day in the life of Americans everywhere. Instead it became a day that would change their lives without mercy". Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, Cynthia Wesley and Addie Mae Collins were four innocent children attending Sunday school when a bomb went off at 10 in the morning and the lives that awaited them were destroyed. Why would anyone want to bomb a church of all places? Sad to say this wouldn't be the first church bombing or the last, but why?
There has to be something deeply rooted in the souls of these individuals that causes them to destroy the foundation and mutual ground between man and God. The church serves as a place of not only spiritual renewal, but during that era is was also the base of operations for tired African Americans. Those who had to sit at the back of the bus, enter through the rear just to see a film, drinking from "colored" water fountains and explaining to their children why they couldn't eat at lunch counters.
You see the church became just more than fellowship and praise, rather than sit at home and complain people would go to church and worship, get all of their worries out. Beyond going solely to hear the word, tithe, communion and enjoy the rest of the day, some even organized in churches and would gather with extended family in the "sanctuary". The day of the bombing was a special day called Young Day and it was filled to capacity. More than 400 people were inside and 80 of those were children The bombing came at a time when desgregation in schools began to rise and many speculated that was the reason for the act. The bomb was set to explode in an empty basement, however the wall blew out near a room filled with children.
The Civil Rights Era in America has to be one of the worst times in history. Main reason being it is the only recorded time of devastation and cruelty that has happened on American soil. Human beings were losing their lives based on the color of their skin. What did these four girls do to anyone that would have caused retaliation on this level? How can people hate an entire group based on what they look like, who have done nothing to harm or endanger those around them...where do these ignorant attitudes stem from? I only pray that whatever the future holds we do not repeat history and can learn to love one another [irregardless] of what they look like. Besides doesn't America preach freedom...
"We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain uninalienable rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness...."
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