“The blood of our little children is on your hands.”
The Sixteenth Street Baptist Church had been the base of operations for most of the activities centered around the fight for desegregation and equal rights in Birmingham; and was also considered to be a centerpiece of The Black Community. After intense efforts by Dr. King and The SCLC to mobilize the masses, a victory in the overall war had been achieved. On May 10th of that year, Birmingham officials would relent to desegregating the local restaurants, public restrooms, public fountains, stores, and more. This led to an onslaught of retaliatory violence from white groups that included fire-bombings and other bombing attacks at The Gaston Hotel (where Dr. King has previously stayed), the home of Dr. King’s brother A.D., and twice at the home of NAACP Attorney Arthur Shores. Four members a local KKK Splinter Group (The Cahaba River Group) would be named as suspects in 1965; but no indictments would come after an almost five-year investigation. In 1971, a new investigation would be launched, by then Alabama Attorney General Bill Blaxley. Robert Chambliss would eventually be found guilty of murder in 1977. As for the other three assassins, Bobby Frank Cherry and Thomas Blanton would be sentenced to prison after The State Of Alabama again re-opened the case files in the year 2000. Herman Cash escaped punishment, as he died in 1994.
SOURCES:
https://www.cnn.com/2013/06/13/us/1963-birmingham-church-bombing-fast-facts/index.html
https://www.nps.gov/articles/16thstreetbaptist.htm
https://www.britannica.com/event/16th-Street-Baptist-Church-bombing
BONUS READING:
https://www.npr.org/2013/01/25/170279226/long-forgotten-16th-street-baptist-church-bombing-survivor-speaks-out