4 Little Girls–45 Years Later

Throughout my academic learning of the civil rights movement, certain people and places were repeated ad nauseum.  Martin Luther King Jr. with his wonderful dream, Brown vs. Board of Ed giving poor black kids a chance, and Rosa Parks didnt want to get up so now Black people have their freedoms.

Aside from being overly simplistic (which essentially dehumanizes and constrains the actual power of the movement), I always wondered, where were the young people?  Were we innocent bystanders?  Were we making history?

The tragic story of  Denise McNair, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson and Addie Mae Collins, killed by white supremacists who set off dynamite at the 16th Street Baptist Church where they were in Sunday School, opens up a door to learn not only about American history but also about the role of young people in the Civil Rights Movement.

They died during a time when it was the height of youth involvement in the movement and their deaths only strenthened young people’s dedication.  Their deaths highlighted how even the most innocent of people are not safe from the impact of racism.  45 years later, I am forced to examine how young black people (including myself) are progressing and how they can be more included in the shaping of their own futures.

It’s a time for reflection and a time to renew dedication to fighting injustice.

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