Statement on the 50th Anniversary of the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing in Birmingham, Alabama

Today we remember Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley, who were killed 50 years ago in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. That horrific day in Birmingham, Alabama, quickly became a defining moment for the civil rights movement. It galvanized Americans all across the country to stand up for equality and broadened support for a movement that would eventually lead to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Earlier this year, I was honored to meet with family members of those four precious little girls as America posthumously awarded them the Congressional Gold Medal, one of our Nation's highest civilian honors.