The 5th Little Girl: Soul Survivor of the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing (The Sarah Collins Rudolph Story)

Once described by the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as one of the most tragic and vicious crimes ever perpetrated against humanity, the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Alabama, instantly killed Addie Mae Collins, Carol Denise McNair, Carole Rosamond Robinson, and Cynthia Dionne Morris Wesley on September 15, 1963. This egregious act of domestic terrorism reverberated worldwide. It also sparked the passage of landmark civil rights legislation and a notable artistic response, signified by the jazz musician John Coltrane s elegiac composition, Alabama. Orchestrated by white supremacists, the blast left twelve-year-old Sarah Collins temporarily blind. For decades, she slipped into anonymity. In this intimate first-hand account, Sarah imparts her views on topics such as the 50th year commemoration, restitution, and racial terrorism. This story also delves into the bond between Sarah and her mother, Mrs. Alice Collins. 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. Read more