Four little murdered girls are remembered.

The bells of the 16^th Street Baptist Church tolled four times Monday, marking one of the most horrific crimes in U.S. history – a bombing that snatched the lives of four little Black girls 45 years ago. About 200 people were on hand at the recently renovated church, for a special service to commemorate the brutal murders of 11-year-old Denise McNair and Addie Mae Collins, Carole Robertson and Cynthia Wesley, all 14. Their deaths helped focus the world’s attention on the brutality of Jim Crow that gripped the American South at the time. Among those addressing the crowd Monday were Rep. Artur Davis (D-Ala.), who praised the growth of his home state, saying, “We are a nobler and better place.” He read from a letter sent to the church by Sen. Barack Obama: “I imagine that in quiet moments, many of you have thought about who Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson and Cynthia Wesley might have become had they been allowed to grow up. Maybe a doctor and a history teacher, a singer and a social worker – their world would have been one of increasing possibility, symbolized in no small part by this magnificent church and the community that built and sustains it.” The 16^th Street Baptist Church finished its $3.8 million renovation, to repair a cracked foundation and other damage sustained in the 1963 bombing, just in time for the ceremony. No one was brought to justice for the murderous act until Robert Chambliss was tried and convicted for the bombing in 1977 when he was sentenced to life. In 2000, the federal government indicted two others for murder.

Comedy legend dies. Legendary comedian Wonderful Smith, who made his mark as part of jazz great Duke Ellington’s revue died at an assisted-living facility in California. He was 97. His most famous routine was pretending to call up then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt to converse about the hot topics of the day. In addition to his on-stage comedic acts, he also became one of the few Black DJs for the Armed Services Radio Network after being drafted into the Army in 1942 at the beginning of World War II. He even escorted Hattie McDaniels to the 1940 Oscars. She was the first African American to win an Academy Award for her role in “Gone With The Wind.” Comedic actor Charlie Chaplin was among his devoted fans.

TAGS: 16th Street Baptist Church, dies, Four little girls, murder, Wonderful Smith

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