Rothfus and House Honor 1963 Birmingham Bombing Victims

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Keith Rothfus [PA-12] released the following statement after voting to honor Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley with a Congressional Gold Medal in commemoration of the 1963 bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church and in recognition of their roles as catalysts of the Civil Rights Movement.

“Today’s unanimous House vote to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the four young girls murdered in the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church is a fitting tribute to these martyrs in the cause for freedom,” said Rothfus.  “It was a privilege to join my colleagues in this vote.”

On Sunday, September 15, 1963, members of the Ku Klux Klan planted a bomb in the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church that killed Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley.  The tragic death of these young girls shocked the nation and helped lead to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

H.R. 360, which was sponsored by Congresswoman Terri Sewell [AL-07] authorizes the striking and posthumous award of a single Congressional Gold Medal to the four victims of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing on September 15, 1963.  Congressman Rothfus is a co-sponsor of H.R. 360. 

The award will be given to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute in Birmingham, Alabama, where it will be available for public display.  H.R. 360 passed unanimously today.  The bill now proceeds to the Senate for consideration.