Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your California Privacy Rights (each updated 1/1/21). Sarah Collins Rudolph was 12 years old when the explosion of a bomb, planted by the Ku Klux Klan, ripped through the basement of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., in 1963. In the backdrop of a national reckoning and global protests, underscored by the deadly violence at Mother Emanuel in Charleston, SC, and tragedies in Charlottesville, VA, and Pittsburgh, PA, Sarah’s unflinching testimony about the ’63 Birmingham church bombing is illuminating.”, The front cover of "The 5th Little Girl" includes a rarely seen childhood photo of Sarah Collins Rudolph. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — For more than a decade, Sarah Collins Rudolph, one of the victims of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, has … For more than a decade, Sarah Collins Rudolph, one of the victims of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, has traveled the … She attended Hill Elementary School. Sarah Collins Rudolph (born c. 1951 in Birmingham) was injured in the 1963 bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church, which killed her sister, Addie Mae and three other girls. © 2021 Advance Local Media LLC. In 2020 Collins lobbied for, and received, a formal apology from Governor Kay Ivey on behalf of the State of Alabama for not doing more to prevent the bombing. She is currently collaborating with Wright State University professor Tracy Snipe on a memoir entitled The Fifth Little Girl: Soul Survivor of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church Bombing. Sarah Collins Rudolph, then 12, was with her sister and three other children when white supremacists bombed the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. “If feels good that her story is coming out because it’s long overdue. She and her current husband, George Rudolph, live in Forestdale. "She's the one nobody ever talks about," Carolyn McKinstry says. Sarah Collins Rudolph lost an eye and her sister was killed when Ku Klux Klan members bombed 16th Street Baptist Church in 1963. Because this is the true story.”. ", With state considering compensating Sarah Collins Rudolph, time to explore reparations for Black Alabamians, Civil Rights bombing victim’s claim raises reparations question for Alabama. Sarah Collins Rudolph, pictured, the lone survivor of a 1963 church bombing in Birmingham, says she is seeking millions in compensation for the attack that took her sister and her right eye. Her petition for restitution was not answered. The biography is also a deep dive into Rudolph’s relationship with her family and the aftermath of the bombing, according to a description from Africa World Press: “In this intimate first-hand account, Sarah imparts her views on topics such as the 50th year commemoration, restitution, and racial terrorism. Sarah Collins Rudolph (born c. 1951 in Birmingham) was injured in the 1963 bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church, which killed her sister, Addie Mae and three other girls. is now complete and available for purchase. After high school, Sarah worked as a short-order cook and at Lawler Foundry for 16 years. In 1990 Sarah made preparations to relocate her sister's remains to a mausoleum at Elmwood Cemetery, but none were found in the marked plot. Sarah Collins Rudolph lost her right eye at age 12 when a bomb went off at the 16th Street Baptist Church and killed four Black girls, including her sister. Reuters, Rudolph, Sarah Collins (September 14, 2017) ", Whites-Koditscheck, Sarah (September 30, 2020) "Alabama Governor apologizes to survivor of 1963 Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing.". In the bomb blast, Sarah was in the same downstairs bathroom with the other victims. ", Bryant, Joseph D. (November 23, 2012) "'Fifth little girl' remains relatively unknown in Birmingham, seeks role and place as 50th anniversary nears. The forthcoming book will include details that Sarah Collins Rudolph has never shared publicly. Sarah was the youngest of 8 children born to janitor Oscar Collins and his wife, Alice, who lived on 6th Court West. Sarah Collins Rudolph sits with her husband, George Rudolph. For more than a decade, Sarah Collins Rudolph, one of the victims of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, has traveled the country telling her story. Her appeal to Mayor William Bell resulted in a no promise of reparations from the city, but instead his pledge to include her in planning for the 50 Years Forward events surrounding the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Movement events of 1963, and that she could be paid for sharing her important story. All rights reserved (About Us). This story also delves into the bond between Sarah and her mother, Mrs. Alice Collins. Sarah Collins Rudolph is a survivor of the 1963 bombing at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. Sarah Collins Rudolph, now 69, was 12 and permanently blinded in one eye by shards of glass when dynamite blasted through the ladies lounge in the church basement on the morning of Sept. 15, 1963. Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission. Sarah Collins Rudolph and George Rudolph pose for a photograph next to the graffitied remains of the Confederate monument in Linn Park the morning of Tuesday, June 2, 2020. She attended Hill Elementary School. She was standing next to her sister, Addie Mae Collins. Audio interview with 16th Street Baptist Church bombing survivor Sarah Collins Rudolph FourSpirits1963.com Archived February 12, 2015, at the Wayback Machine —A website devoted to the construction and preservation of the Four Spirits memorial sculpture at Kelly Ingram Park Rudolph was 12 years old when dynamite planted by members of the Ku Klux Klan inside of the 16th Street Baptist Church exploded on Sept. 15, 1963. In 2002 her testimony concluded the state's case against Bobby Frank Cherry in his long-delayed trial for murder. Sarah Collins Rudolph in 2002. Sarah Collins Rudolph has authored a book telling her eye witness account of the Klan bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church 54 years ago. (Shauna Stuart for AL.com). Sarah Collins Rudolph (left) survived the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in 1963 at the age of 12. While the 70 year-old Birmingham native isn’t giving any further insight those details just yet, she told AL.com that she is glad a years-long process has finally come to fruition. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Sarah was the youngest of 8 children born to janitor Oscar Collins and his wife, Alice, who lived on 6th Court West. In New Book ,‘Fifth Little Girl’ Describes First Hand Account of Horrific Church Bombing, 'God had to do a work in me': Sarah Collins Rudolph on reclaiming her story, https://www.bhamwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Sarah_Collins&oldid=170650. She was struck by shards of glass, injuring both eyes. In 2013, as Representatives Terri Sewell and Spencer Bachus co-sponsored a bill to confer the Congressional Gold Medal on the four victims of the blast, Collins spoke out against the gesture, saying that justice remains unfulfilled and that she deserves restitution for her suffering and medical expenses at the hands of the Ku Klux Klan. Blanton and Bobby Frank Cherry both were arrested in 2000 on murder charges and would not be found guilty until 2001 and 2002 respectively. This page was last modified on 1 October 2020, at 12:04. Blanton, who was the last surviving Ku Klux Klan member convicted in the 1963 bombing, died in prison in June. Sarah Collins Rudolph, a survivor of the church bombing that killed four Black girls 57 years ago in Birmingham, Alabama has never received an … Collins Rudolph had glass fragments in her chest, left eye and abdomen for decades after the explosion. Sarah Collins Rudolph’s lawyers noted in a letter to Gov. But you cannot rush the process,” Collins Rudolph’s husband George Rudolph told AL.com in a brief phone interview. “I’m very excited about it because we have waited so long. Since that day, she’s felt forgotten by RELATED: ‘God had to do a work in me’: Sarah Collins Rudolph on reclaiming her story. Collins' family filed suit against Poole Funeral Home, which operated the cemetery at the time, but the case was dismissed in 2003. Sarah Collins Rudolph (above) is seeking restitution from the state of Alabama more than 50 years after she was injured by a church bombing that killed her sister and three other Black girls. More than a dozen sticks of dynamite planted by Ku Klux Klansmen exploded at a Birmingham church in 1963, killing four Black girls. an official apology from the state and possibly compensation. Photo / Washington Post Sarah Collins was 12 on the morning of Sept. 15, 1963 when she went to 16th Street Baptist Church’s annual Youth Day event. She has also suffered from memory loss and post-traumatic stress. CBS Blinded in one eye by the blast, Sarah Rudolph, 69, has spent a lifetime … Rudolph’s testimony would bring three bombing suspects and Ku Klux Klan members-- Robert “Dynamite Bob” Chambliss, Thomas E. Blanton Jr., and Bobby Frank Cherry to justice decades later. (Frank Couch/The Birmingham Times) This is the opening chapter of “The 5th Little Girl: Soul Survivor of the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing (The Sarah Collins Rudolph Story Sarah Collins Rudolph, who survived the Birmingham, Alabama, bombing. Ivey issued an apology to Rudolph for the state’s role in fomenting the 1963 attack. Sarah Collins Rudolph and her husband, George Rudolph, walk into Peace Baptist Church in Decatur, Ga., for her to speak about her experience in the 1963 church bombing. Monday night, the city of Birmingham dismantled the 52-foot-tall monument. ", Bragg, Rick (May 18, 2002) "Survivor of '63 Bomb Recalls Glass Shards and a Sister Lost. Sarah Collins Rudolph lost an eye and her sister was killed when Ku Klux Klan members bombed 16th Street Baptist Church in 1963. Since that day, she's felt forgotten by … Earlier this month, Collins Rudolph's legal team requested a formal apology and restitution for the … Two months later, Gov. Sarah Collins Rudolph was 12 years old when the bomb, planted by the Ku Klux Klan, ripped through the basement of the church on Sept. 15, 1963, NPR reported. Written by Wright State University political science professor Tracy D. Snipe after hours of conversation with Rudolph, the 406-page book is a chronicle of her life growing up in civil rights era Birmingham. Updated on November 16 with a photo of the book cover. Temple, Chanda (January 14, 1998) "'63 bombing victim's family eager to locate site of grave. Sarah Collins Rudolph. “I’m thankful that it will finally happen. By Sarah Collins Rudolph. The blast blew glass and shrapnel at her face, leaving her blind in one eye, and killed her sister Addie Mae Collins and their friends Carole Robertson, Cynthia Wesley, and Denise McNair. The “fifth little girl,” Sarah Collins Rudolph, survived but still has shards of glass in her body from the blast that took her sister, her right eye and her dreams of becoming a nurse. (Courtesy, Africa World Press). “The 5th Little Girl: Soul Survivor of the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing (The Sarah Collins Rudolph Story)” is now complete and available for purchase. Sarah Collins, now Sarah Collins Rudolph, was a 12 year old in church on September 15, 1963. In July, lawyers representing Rudolph wrote a letter to Gov. Sarah Collins Rudolph and George Rudolph pose for a photograph next to the graffitied remains of the Confederate monument in Linn Park the morning of Tuesday, June 2, 2020. Sarah Collins Rudolph still carries glass from the bombing that killed her sister and three other little girls on Sept. 15, 1963. With a photo of her as a 12-year-old in a hospital room on a screen behind her, Sarah Collins Rudolph, left, describes the 1963 bombing at Birmingham's 16th Street Baptist Church to … Now, her full story will come out in a forthcoming book, published by Africa World Press and The Red Sea Press. Chambliss wouldn’t be convicted of murder until 1977. She was injured during that bombing. Smith, Kyle (August 11, 1997) "The Day the Children Died". August 8, 2003. Kay Ivey asking for an official apology from the state and possibly compensation. Kay Ivey that now is the right time for ‘long overdue justice.’ Kay Ivey, the governor of Alabama, has written a letter of apology to Sarah Collins Rudolph, the woman known as the “fifth girl” from the racist bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham in 1963. 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