In the summer of 2019, my family took a wonderful, long road trip. We visited the beach, the U.S. Space and Rocket center in Huntsville for the 50th anniversary of the Apollo mission to the Moon, and along the way we visited some historic sites. It was a wonderful trip and I look forward to the day that we can make another wonderful trip like this again.
One of the places we visited was the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. This historic church was the first black church in Birmingham. In the 1960s, the church was place where many civil rights meetings took place.
On Sunday, September 5, 1963 a bomb exploded outside of this church. This act of terror killed four young girls and wounded 20 other people during the Sunday school hour. It was a tragedy the rocked the city and Birmingham and the world. This terrible incident helped to turn the hearts and eyes of the world to the events occurring in Birmingham.
The church was restored because of generous donations that poured in from around the world. Later the park across the street, where many civil rights marches were held, was redone to memorialize these four young girls and all who marched for freedom and justice.
As we stood in that park, I was overwhelmed by the history that was right in front of us. A local man approached us and shared some details about the park that we were not aware of. He drew our attention to the sidewalk where we were standing. The park was beautiful, and the stone sidewalk was nice. What we did not realize was the detail that went into the stone that made the walk surrounding this large park. It was brick of different colors. Specifically, red, yellow, black and white brick and stone was used to make the sidewalk. We were literally standing on a work of art. It serves as a reminder to all who came to this historic church and park that all who come there are God’s children.
When I realized the reason for the color chosen, I was overwhelmed with emotion. The sadness that came over me was for the senseless violence, the deaths of those little girls, so close to the age of my own daughters. I was heartbroken that we as humans could have the capacity to treat others in such a terrible way.
Standing in that beautiful park, on that beautiful sidewalk, we looked towards the historic Sixteenth Baptist Church and I was reminded that God has called us all His children. That day I was reminded that God has created and loved each and every one of us. It is God’s love that should compel us to treat one another with kindness, respect and love… the same love that God has shown to us.
“Jesus loves the little children
All the children of the world
Red, brown, yellow
black and white
They are precious in His sight
Jesus loves the little children
Of the world”
– Rev. Keith King, Pastor of Worship
