16th Street Church bombing survivor shares story, discusses racism

On the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s death last week, people crowded into a room at Pebble Hill to hear Sarah Collins Rudolph, survivor of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, tell her story and discuss racism. No seats were left empty.

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“September 15 was youth Sunday at the church, and we were so excited because we were going to do the duties of the adults,” said Rudolph, recalling the day of the bombing. “We were walking to church, and we were having such a good time.”

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Twelve-year-old Rudolph and her sister, Addie Mae Collins, walked down to the basement of the church to the ladies’ lounge that day in 1963. Three other girls were also there — Denise McNair, Carole Robertson and Cynthia Wesley. Rudolph would be the only one in the room to survive.

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“(Denise) turned around and said, ‘Addie, tie the sash on my dress,’ and Addie reached down to tie it,” Rudolph said. “And all of a sudden, I heard this sound — Boom! And all I could do was say, ‘Jesus!’ And I called her name, ‘Addie, Addie, Addie!’ But she didn’t answer.”

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The bomb, which had been planted by members of the Ku Klux Klan, exploded under the stairs of the church, blowing the steps away. A deacon of the church jumped down where the hole had formed and found Rudolph, who was bleeding and blinded by the explosion. He picked her up and carried her to an ambulance. 

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“All I could do was wonder, why did they kill those girls?” Rudolph said. “We came to church to learn about the Lord, and all of a sudden, four young girls were killed that Sunday morning.”

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She never regained vision in her right eye and says her vision in her left eye isn’t good, either. 

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After spending a couple of months in the hospital, Rudolph went back to the 16th Street Baptist Church for two more Sundays.

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“After those two Sundays, I was afraid to go back because I thought another bomb would go off,” she said.

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Because people at that time didn’t understand what it was like to be 12 years old and go through a traumatic experience like that, Rudolph said she never received any counseling, and her grades in school dropped. 

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“I was always afraid,” she said. “Every time I would hear a loud sound, I would just jump, because the bomb, the blast was so loud.”

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Although the fear still haunts her today, Rudolph said she was able to get rid of the hate that racism and the bombing put in her heart.

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“I stopped hating because it wasn’t going to bring my sister or my friends back,” she said. “It wasn’t going to bring my sight back.”

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After Rudolph finished telling her story, she took questions from the crowded room. Auburn senior Melissa Mitchell asked her if she thought race relations in society have improved.

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“When I look at things now, they look like they’re going back,” Rudolph said. “We’re killing our young men in numbers now, and it’s time for all of this to stop.”

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After this question, a woman stood up and said, “What I see in Lee County is a lot of blacks killing blacks. How are we going to quit that?”

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Joan Harrell, journalism professor at Auburn University and moderator of the discussion, helped Rudolph answer that question.

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“Whenever the discussion begins about racism, then the question is asked, ‘Why are black people killing each other?’ So I like to ask the question: What does that have to do with racism?” she said. “We’re still in the process of trying to become the beloved community.”

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Stacy Nickson, director of the Center for Educational Outreach and Engagement, also contributed to the discussion.

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“Those two issues, as a pinpoint, have nothing to do with one another,” she said. “It’s like you telling me you had a car accident, and me asking you, ‘But what about those buses over there that ran off the cliff?’ OK, we’re talking about two accidents, but these two things have nothing to do with one another.”

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For the younger generation, Rudolph advises people to get an education and live a life like Martin Luther King. She tells the older generation to teach the younger people the way.

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“Stand by the young people because some of them just don’t know the way,” she said. “Let’s teach them the way. They don’t know about what happened then, how Martin Luther King gave his life for us, that we can have a better life. Teach them that.”

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Today, Rudolph spends her time going to church and traveling around the country to talk to people about her experience and about what life was like when she was younger. She is also working on a book that will tell her story.

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“When we see people that are different, still love each other,” Rudolph said. “That’s what my message is all about, when I go around. Love wins. Hate don’t win.”

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To watch the full talk, visit http://aub.ie/SarahCollinsRudolph.

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This article was an assignment that I did for class that was later published in The Auburn Villager.