Sarah Collins Rudolph, "The 5th Little Girl", Signed Photo

A 20" x 16" glossy black and white photograph with a handwritten essay signed by Sarah Collins Rudolph (b. 1951), "The 5th Little Girl" whose sister and friends perished in the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing. Described by Martin Luther King, Jr. as "one of the most vicious and tragic crimes ever perpetrated against humanity", Sarah Collins Rudolph is the lone survivor of the five little girls who were in the basement during the attack. In near fine condition. Accompanied by an image of Sarah Collins Rudolph signing photographs.

In a lengthy inscription, Collins Rudolph describes the moments before and after the bombing, and the wounds she endured. Penned in white felt tip above photos of the four victims, Collins writes, "My two sisters and I were so excited and happy that day walking about 17 blocks to the 16th Street Baptist Church to go to Sunday School. When we got there, Sunday School was already in session. So we went to the ladies lounge of the basement of the church that morning waiting for Sunday School to end. Denise McNair, Carol Robertson and Cynthia Wesley came into the bathroom. My sister was standing by the stained-glass window and I was standing by the sink. Denise ask Addie to tie the sash on her dress. I never got a chance to see her tie it because all of a sudden I heard a loud noise. Boom! And I heard someone holler, Somebody bombed the 16th Street Baptist Church! I called out for Jesus and for my sister Addie! Addie! Addie! but she didn't answer. I lost my right eye in the bombing and I'm reminded of it everyday when I look into the mirror, by seeing the scars on my face and the prosthetics. / Sarah Collins Rudolph / 'The 5th Little Girl' / Survivor of the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing".

The 16th Street Baptist Church bombing was a white supremacist terrorist bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, on Sunday, September 15, 1963. Four members of a local Ku Klux Klan chapter planted nineteen sticks of dynamite attached to a timing device beneath the steps located on the east side of the church. In the basement, four little girls were killed: 14-year-old Addie Mae Collins, 14-year-old Denise McNair, 14-year-old Carole Robertson, and 11-year-old Cynthia Wesley.

Although the FBI had concluded in 1965 that the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing had been committed by four known Klansmen and segregationists, no prosecutions were conducted until 1977, and it was decades later that only three of the men were prosecuted. 

The 16th Street Baptist Church bombing marked a turning point in the United States during the civil rights movement and also contributed to support for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by Congress.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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