Sarah Collins Rudolph, survivor of the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama on September 15, 1963, will share her poignant personal narrative of survival, resilience, faith, and advocacy. Forged in the devastating terror of what was meant to be “Youth Sunday” at church, Mrs. Rudolph will share a firsthand account of the morning that transformed a sanctuary into a site of domestic terrorism and a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement.

Mrs. Rudolph will recount the events of that morning, describing how she walked to church with her sister, Addie Mae Collins, and joined three other friends—Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley—in the basement lounge to prepare for the 11:00 a.m. service. She watched her sister Addie tie the sash of Denise McNair’s new dress just before the explosion ripped through the building at 10:22 a.m. The immediate aftermath of the blast buried Mrs. Rudolph in rubble and blinded her. She will describe the terrifying silence following the explosion and the memory of calling out “Addie, Addie, Addie” into the debris, only to receive no answer. After the explosion, she faced a long road of recovery for her injuries, including removal of 21 shards of glass from her face and eyes, the permanent loss of her right eye and her two-month hospitalization, and the emotional burden of being the only girl in that room to survive the attack that killed her sister and three friends.

Our program will include a discussion of the successive decades, when the law enforcement investigation remained dormant, with federal progress blocked by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, all despite the early identification of the suspects. Mrs. Rudolph will reflect on the “generational trauma” and the persistent fear felt by the Black community in Birmingham while the perpetrators remained free for nearly 40 years. Sarah will also discuss her role as a witness for the prosecution in three criminal trials between 1978-2002. She showed resolve and courage when she faced her sister’s killers in the courtroom and later at parole hearings, and her testimony helped to secure the convictions that finally brought a measure of restorative justice to the victims’ families and the community. Mrs. Rudolph’s life’s work has been to promote the redemptive power of truth and the importance of ensuring this history is remembered and taught to younger generations.

Books will be available for purchase the night of the event.