Birmingham church bombing survivor shares story in Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- One of the deadliest attacks of the civil rights movement was remembered today in Louisville.

Four Black girls were killed, while 12-year-old Sarah Collins survived on Sept. 15, 1963, when a bomb exploded at the 16th Street Baptist Church as its members prepared for Sunday services.

Victims and survivors of large-scale terrorist acts, including the Sept. 11 attacks, have received compensation. Sarah Collins Rudolph says she has not.

Sarah Collins-Rudolph 2 — Shirt featuring Baptist Street Church Bombing victims at Roots 101 African American Museum in Louisville.

At the Roots 101 African American Museum Friday evening, she talked about the trauma, injuries and loss she suffered that day, as well as disclosed details of her book "The 5th Little Girl: Sole Survivor of the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing."

Sarah Collins-Rudolph 1 — Sarah Collins-Rudolph signs book at Roots 101 African American Museum in Louisville.

"I heard this loud noise. Boom! And all I could do back then was say, Jesus!” Rudolph said.

She said she then called her sister's name three times, but she never answered.

The blast killed her sister Addie Mae Collins and their friends Carole Robertson, Cynthia Wesley, and Denise McNair.

Rudolph lost her right eye when shards struck her face.

"We are still going through that same struggle that we went through then and we see so much racism," she said.

Three former Ku Klux Klan members were eventually convicted of murder for the bombing. The last of the three, Thomas Edwin Blanton Jr., died last year in prison.

"I was just hoping he had repented because something like that, putting a bomb in a church and killing innocent people,” Rudolph said. “That should have never happened."

Rudolph was given a long-sought apology last year by Alabama's Governor who said the bombing was an "egregious injustice."

Bernice “Mother” Kent, a Louisville native agrees, and says Sunday mornings may never be the same.

"I'm 91-years-old,” said Kent. “I've been around a long time. Church was a place you could go for solace, but now it's so confusing and it's confusing everywhere."

Rudolph’s tale of survival and loss is seared into history, and by continuing to share it, Kent believes Rudolph is on the road to restitution.

"It's going to get worse before it gets better," added Kent.