The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963 Step # 3(Project)

September 15,1963

I thought today would be a normal day until my ears were ringing and my eyes popped open it sounded like a bomb but it couldn't be another bomb.The clouds were gone and the air was thick I didn't know what to do with myself. 11-year-old Denise McNair and three 14-year-olds: Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson and Addie Mae Collins were killed when a dynamite bomb exploded at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. The girls had been in a basement dressing room, discussing their first days at school and preparing for the 11:00am Adult Service. The church had been a center for many civil rights rallies and meetings, and after the tragedy, it became a focal point drawing many moderate whites into the civil rights movement.
By the end of the day, riots and fires had broken out throughout Birmingham and another 2 teenagers were dead.

September 18,1963

There was a big funeral for the little girls it was a sad day for everyone.I was sadder than everyone else because I've been with them for long time and now i can't see them anymore.They've been my friends since little and now there gone

October, 1988
Gary A. Tucker, dying of cancer, says he helped set the bomb. Federal and state prosecutors reopen their investigation, but new charges are never filed

July 10, 1997
After a secret, year-long review, the FBI reopens its investigation.

May 17, 2000
Thomas Blanton and Bobby Frank Cherry surrendered after an Alabama grand jury indicted them on first-degree murder charges. They have also been charged with four counts of "universal malice." At his press conference, U.S. Attorney Doug Jones said "We have additional information, and we expect the evidence today to be a good bit different than 36 years ago."


May 1, 2001
After less than three hours of deliberations, a jury found Thomas Blanton guilty of four counts of first degree murder, and sentenced him to life imprisonment