Jack and Jill of America, Inc. Commemorates 60th Anniversary of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing and victims including JJ Teen Carole Robertson

September 15, 2023 — By Candace M. Moore, PhD, Communications Manager, Jack and Jill of America, Incorporated

WASHINGTON / BIRMINGHAM — Jack and Jill of America, Incorporated respectfully commemorates the 60th anniversary of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham and the four girls killed in the tragedy on September 15,1963—Carole Robertson, Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, and Cynthia Wesley.

Carole Rosamond Robertson, age 14, was a Jack and Jill of America, Incorporated Teen known as an honors student, avid reader, and a musically gifted child. The third child of Alvin and Alpha Robertson, Carole was very active in her school, church, and community. Her mother, Alpha, was also elected as the organization’s first Southeastern Regional Director.

Jack and Jill of America (JJOA) has supported several efforts on the national, regional, and local levels to commemorate Carole’s memory, as well as the remaining victims of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. At the 1964 National Convention in Seattle, Jack and Jill of America Incorporated held Carole Robertson Recognition Night with the decree that in September, each chapter highlights the goals of human rights that Carole did not live to enjoy. Carole Robertson Day has been observed annually in Jack and Jill of America chapters every year since then during the month of September, with memorial activities performed to remember her life, legacy, and the sacrifice she as well as others paid for civil rights.

On a national Carole Robertson Day webinar in 2022, Dianne Robertson Braddock, Carole’s sister, said the following:

“I am so grateful to the organization for deciding back in 1964, that you would remember Carole and the other girls killed in the 16th Street Church bombing," said Robertson Braddock. "At that time, my mother was a Regional Director of Jack and Jill’s Southeastern Region and what a wonderful tribute to the family and to the civil rights movement that Jack and Jill would take this on. I am not surprised because it is in the nature of Jack and Jill to honor and remember children and families.”

This year, on September 9, 2023, Jack and Jill of America’s Birmingham Chapter hosted a collaborative statewide event with the five neighboring Alabama JJOA Chapters—Greater Huntsville, Mobile, Montgomery, Tuscaloosa, and Tuskegee—in honor of Carole Robertson and the 60th commemoration of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. Special guests included Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, Congresswoman Terri Sewell of Alabama’s 7th Congressional District, Pastor Arthur Price Jr. of 16th Street Baptist Church, and Dianne Robertson Braddock. ?Due to Carole’s love for reading, the Birmingham Chapter built and dedicated a reading corner in the city’s Smithfield Library.? One of the Birmingham Chapter Teens also created a nationally recognized Girl Scout patch honoring the four little girls and presented it to Mrs. Dianne Robertson Braddock, Carole’s Sister, at the event (Carole was an active Girl Scout).

Birmingham Chapter President Krysten Holloway said, “The bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church and the loss of four innocent lives taught not only our community but our nation how to bind together through hate, with love, through divisiveness through protest, through injustice with justice.? We have come a long way in 60 years, but we still remember the names of so many countless victims of black and brown skin in our nation.? We must remember this story so that it is not lost on the generation to come, and they remember the shoulders they stand upon. As the daughter of a Freedom Rider, Clyde L. Carter, I encourage my children to remember whose shoes they are wearing, and where are they taking you.”

On the national and regional levels, Jack and Jill of America, Incorporated continues to remain invested in various initiatives including active involvement with a beautification project in Birmingham to enhance the burial sites of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing victims. Support for this project was made possible through generous financial donations and contributions from the organization’s members and families, particularly in the Southeastern Region, and through Jack and Jill of America Foundation—the philanthropic arm of Jack and Jill of America, Incorporated. Carole’s gravesite consists of a tall, obelisk memorial which was dedicated in 2018 under the administration of current National President Kornisha McGill Brown when she served as Southeastern Regional Director and Past National President Joli Cooper.

In honor of the 60th Commemoration in 2023, National President Brown and National Program Director Marvis Donalson traveled to Birmingham to participate in events honoring the 16th Street Church bombing victims and visit Carole’s burial site. The organization will also remember the young girls in a special tribute during Jack and Jill of America’s biennial On The Hill Legislative Summit in Washington, D.C., September 22-25, 2023.

“Today, we pause to honor the memory of Carole Robertson, Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, and Cynthia Wesley,” said National President Kornisha McGill Brown. “As an organization, we will always remember and re-emphasize to our children this important moment of history by educating them and encouraging them to find their voice for advocacy and civic engagement. May we never forget the life and legacy of Carole and so many others who made the ultimate sacrifice for equality and human rights. And, may we continue to honor them in all that we do as we build a brighter tomorrow for all children and future generations.”

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ABOUT JACK AND JILL OF AMERICA, INC.

Jack and Jill of America, Inc. was founded in 1938 to nurture future African American leaders by stimulating the growth and development of children through educational, cultural, civic, recreational, health and social programs inspired by mothers. Through its 262 chapters organized in seven regions across the United States, Jack and Jill is considered the largest African American family organization in the nation representing 70,000 family members which includes, mother members, associates, fathers, and children ages two through 19. For more information about Jack and Jill of America, Inc. please visit jackandjillinc.org or @jackandjillinc on Facebook, Instagram, ?Twitter, TikTok, or LinkedIn: Jack and Jill of America, Inc.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Candace Moore, Communications Manager, Jack and Jill of America, Inc. [email protected] │ (202) 920-5508

Elizabeth Chisolm, Executive Director, Jack and Jill of America, Inc.

[email protected] │ (202) 667-7010

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