16th Street Baptist Church opens visitor center on bombing anniversary

The 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, marked the 63rd anniversary of the 1963 Ku Klux Klan bombing with the opening of a new visitor center. The center is intended to educate the public about the Civil Rights Movement and encourage a commitment to justice.

The original bombing, which occurred on September 15, 1963, killed four girls—Denise McNair, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson, and Addie Mae Collins—as they prepared for Sunday services. One other girl, Sarah Collins Rudolph, survived the explosion with severe injuries.

During the memorial service, Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, addressed the crowd. He noted that the remembrance occurs during a period of narrative struggle in America, citing concerns regarding political efforts to remove museum content and attacks on the Voting Rights Act.