16th Street Baptist Church

16th Street Baptist Church wins national historic stewardship award 

The 16th Street Baptist Church received national recognition on Monday for its historic site stewardship from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. This comes after years of church staff and community members working hard to restore and preserve the structure as it looked in 1963. 

Birmingham residents reflect on 60th anniversary of church bombing

We spoke with several residents on Friday, asking for their reflections on the 60th anniversary of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing.

Jackson says we must own hardest chapters of US history during 1963 church bombing remembrance

Jackson, the first Black woman to serve on the nation’s highest court, spoke at the 60th anniversary of the Sept. 15, 1963 bombing at 16th Street Baptist Church. She said the country should celebrate the great strides that have been made since 1963 but that there is still work to do.

Birmingham marks the 60th anniversary of the 1963 church bombing that killed four Black girls

On the morning of Sept. 15, 1963, dynamite planted by Ku Klux Klan members exploded at the church, killing the girls and shocking the nation. The large, prominent church was targeted because it was a center of the African American community and the site of mass meetings during the Civil Rights Movement.

On 60th anniversary of church bombing, victim’s sister, suspect’s daughter urge people to stop hate

Lisa McNair's sister Denise was one of the girls who lost their lives. Tammie Fields’ father was questioned as a possible suspect in the church bombing but never charged. Decades after the bombing, the two women met at a Black History Month event and forged a seemingly unlikely connection and friendship.

Memoir explores ‘being Black but growing up white’ after the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing

"Dear Denise" follows Lisa McNair's life in a series of letters to the sister she never met. Lisa recounts her experience growing up in the first generation of African Americans after legal segregation.

Last parent of a child killed in 1963 church bombing dies

The last living parent of any of the four Black girls killed in a 1963 Alabama church bombing died Sunday. She was 93.

Birmingham’s Civil Rights History Front And Center At Rally For George Floyd

Speakers at a rally in downtown Birmingham referenced the city's history of nonviolent protest as they responded to the death of George Floyd, who died after being arrested by police in Minneapolis Monday.

Biden at 16th Street Baptist Church Commemoration: ‘Hate is on the Rise’

Sunday marked the 56th anniversary of the bombing of Birmingham’s 16th Street Baptist Church. Former Vice President Joe Biden spoke at the memorial observance.

FBI Records Could Have Solved A Civil Rights Cold Case. Now It’s Too Late

The murder of the Rev. James Reeb was unsolved for more than 50 years. Now, Alabama officials who might have pursued prosecution tell NPR that if the FBI had shared its case file with them, they would have investigated Reeb's murder years earlier.

US Attorney General Lynch Gives Final Speech in Birmingham

US Attorney General Loretta Lynch spoke to a packed congregation at the 16th St. Baptist Church yesterday to commemorate Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Lynch says the city’s past and King’s work have made Birmingham a beacon for civil rights in the United States.

New National Monument Connects Birmingham’s Past to Today

President Obama establishes the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument place many notable civil rights sites under the banner of the National Park Service.

Birmingham Leaders Want Civil Rights Sites Declared National Park

Leaders in Birmingham, Alabama want President Obama to declare the city's civil rights district a National Historical Park. Many notable events from the civil rights era took place in Birmingham including the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church where four black girls were killed by Ku Klux Klansman

A New Leader for the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute

Tuesday Birmingham will mark the 52 anniversary of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing which killed 4 girls and helped galvanize support for passage of the Civil Rights Act. For staff at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, they’ll note this anniversary under new leadership. Andrea Taylor began as the new president and CEO of the institute last week.

Birmingham Reacts to the Attack at Charleston’s Emanuel AME Church

Local religious leaders are reacting to the Wednesday shooting at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopalian Church in Charleston, S.C. that killed nine people. Reverend Arthur Price is the pastor of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. He told WBHM’s Rachel Osier Lindley how members of his congregation were responding.