16th Street Baptist Church Bombing Survivor: Atlanta Q&A

DECATUR, GA — The 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in 1963 garnered national attention. Nearly 60 years later, the Birmingham, Alabama, attack that killed four girls has not been forgotten. In fact, it was a moment in history that gave the civil rights movement even more momentum.

On Wednesday, the Greater Atlanta Black Prosecutors Association hosted “An Evening with Sarah Collins Rudolph,” a special Q&A with the survivor who was then 12 years old when her church was bombed. The event was moderated by Ebony Phillips, vice president of programs. More than 700 people registered to attend the free event that was held at Peace Baptist Church, 4000 Covington Highway, Decatur.

The 16th Street Baptist Church was once a meetup hub for civil rights activists such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who held several meetings within its four walls during that era. That well-known fact made the black church a target for local white supremacists, who would routinely call the church with bomb threats.

On Sept. 15, 1963, parishioners attended church like any other Sunday. Tragedy hit when a bomb detonated at 10:22 a.m. It took the lives of four girls who were getting ready in the church’s basement bathroom before the 11 a.m. service. Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley and Carole Robertson, all age 14, and 11-year-old Denise McNair died that day. There was a fifth girl — a survivor. Sarah is one who often is forgotten.

On Wednesday, Rudolph described to the audience what it was like attending a segregated school and not being allowed to play with white children. She talked about growing up with five sisters and two brothers and how 5-cent movies after church were a favorite pastime.

Rudolph grew up in a time when activists were advocating for integrated schools, along with other civil rights for African Americans. Alabama was a city full of racial tensions. She opened up about the day of the church bombing, reflecting momentarily on why she thinks she’s here today.

“I survived because God wanted someone to tell the story,” she said. “God spared me to tell it.”

The bomb’s explosion caused the front of the building’s walls to cave in.

Moments before, Cynthia, Denise and Carole had walked into the bathroom joining Sarah and her sister, Addie.

“Denise walked over to Addie and asked her to tie the sash on her dress; when she reached out to tie the sash, ‘boom’ — that’s when the bomb went off. All I could say was, ‘Jesus, Addie, Addie,’ but she didn’t answer. I didn’t know what happened.”

A deacon of the church jumped down to her from the first floor because the steps had been blown away, she said.

“The bomb blew a big hole in the church. I was still standing. He saw me standing, just bleeding.”

King would later give the eulogy.

Although Sarah’s life was spared, there were still injuries. Glass was in her face, eyes and chest. Doctors operated but were only able to save the left eye, which still has a piece of glass in it.

Always an “A” student, Sarah said that the traumatic event affected her life. Grades suffered, and the dream of becoming a nurse faded. The family silently grieved the loss of a daughter, a sister. The impact reached beyond her childhood years. Back then, victim resources weren’t available, and no one talked about it at school, she said.

“I was treated as though nothing had happened,” she said. “I didn’t get any counseling — I just went back. The kids acted as if they didn’t know.”

Sarah developed a nervous condition and was always afraid, she said. As a young adult, she said she developed a drinking and smoking habit to cope with the stress. It didn’t help, and one day she visited a church. “The apostle was talking about getting saved, and so I got my life right with God.”

Most of her life, Rudolph said, she lived with fear, suppressing her feelings from that incident. It wasn’t until her late 40s that she said she released it and put her trust in God.

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Twenty-year career victim advocate Rita Davis-Cannon, who’s also the state’s Prosecuting Attorney Council’s Director of Victim Services, says everyone deals with trauma differently. The impact on children is often greater than on adults, she said. In Sarah’s situation, the lack of resources after the incident delayed her willingness to share openly.

“I attribute that to her not having the counseling, guidance and support to help her maneuver through that process,” Davis-Cannon said. “A very important part of the healing process is being able to properly talk about it with professionals who are trained to teach you how to cope with these kinds of dramatic events.”

The event inspired her, and she said she hopes it did the same for many of the advocates in the room, which included judges and prosecutors.

“We can’t have another victim saying they didn’t have that guidance and support,” Davis-Cannon said. “The significance for me is to see how we’re progressing and what we can do in the victim service field to be [that] and help victims throughout the criminal justice process.”

The Rev. Darron Randolph, executive pastor, said the Q&A was both heartfelt and overwhelming. He said he has respect for Rudolph, who persevered.

Originally from Alabama himself, he said he wasn’t aware of her story. Now that he knows it, he said it’s a story that needs to be told. On Wednesday, the audience consisted of all ages, including children who even directed questions to the survivor. Randolph said it’s important for the young African American generation to know their history.

“We have to do a better job as family and as a community in telling our kids our history,” he said. “They really don’t know it these days. They see bits of it, but February is not enough time to tell black history — it’s way past Dr. King.”

He said the bar has been set with this year’s event, and they are already thinking of 2021.

The Civil Rights Act was signed into law in 1964. Bobby Frank Cherry, Thomas Blanton, Robert Chambliss and Herman Frank Cash were named as the suspects after the law was signed, according to Time.

A jury didn’t convict Chambliss until 1977. Juries convicted Blanton and Cherry in 2001 and 2002. Cash was never charged and died in 1994. Rudolph said she deserves restitution for her injuries.

The Q&A was livestreamed on Facebook. The Greater Atlanta Black Prosecutors Association hosted the event in partnership with Arora & LaScala, Yeargan & Kert, and Peace Baptist Church.