What Is the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church?
The Sixteenth Street Baptist Church is an early 20th Century Byzantine and Romanesque style church!
What Makes It Historical?
This church was designed by Wallace A. Rayfield, the first Black architect to lead his own firm in Alabama! A teacher at the Tuskegee Institute, he was later made the official architect for the A.M.E. Zion church in both the US and in Africa! The church was built between 1909 and 1911 and mainly served wealthier members of the Black community in Birmingham.
Originally keeping his distance from the civil rights fight, Reverend John H. Cross made this church available for recruiting and training on April 8, 1963, the day after the first violent responses against the protestors. Two thousand student protestors gathered here on May 3, 1963 before beginning their march into Kelly Ingram Park and would continue until a truce with local businesses was reached on May 10!
The tragedy of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church came on September 15, 1963 when vigilantes, responding to a court order desegregating schools in Alabama, set off a bomb in the church. Dozens of folks were hurt, and four girls, Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley, were killed. Though the FBI closed the case without charges three years later, outrage over this bombing spurred the passing of the Civil Rights Act the following year.
How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?
- Volunteer at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute!
- Donate to the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church!
- Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!
How Do I Get There?
1530 6th Ave N
Birmingham, AL 35203
(Take Me There!)
When Should I Visit?
The church is open for tours by appointment!
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