US Supreme Court Justice Jackson Set to speak at Birmingham Church Bombing Anniversary

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, will serve as the guest speaker in Alabama next month, as the nation marks the 60th anniversary of that church bombing that killed four girls in 1963.

Jackson’s keynote address will take place at 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, at a September 15th.

The girls were gathered in the church downstairs bathroom on Sept. 15, 1963, when a bomb planted by KKK members went off just outside the church stairs. The blast killed Denise McNair, 11, Carole Robertson, 14, Cynthia Wesley, 14 and Addie Mae Collins, 14 whose sister, Sarah Collins Rudolph, was injured and is still living today.

The Rev. Arthur Price Jr., the current pastor of the church, said “it’s particularly meaningful to have the nation’s first Black woman on the Supreme Court speak on this upcoming anniversary of the bombing.”

There are multiple events in the city to mark the bombing anniversary.