Kelly Ingram Park is, in essence, a historical landmark in Birmingham. It rests between 16th and 17th Streets, adjacent to the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, which suffered an infamous bombing almost 60 years ago that killed four young girls. In honor of Black History Month, we should look at the statues in this park, appreciate their meanings, and walk away with a new sense of understanding of how deeply and how long African-Americans have fought for their civil rights.
This statue is at the front of the park. On Sept. 15, 1963, these young girls (ages 11-14) were killed by a Ku Klux Klan bombing attack in the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. This depicts the exact moment the bomb went off, as remembered by Sarah Collins, a survivor of the bombing and sister of victim Addie Mae Collins, but with doves flying out of Carol Denise McNair’s hands as Addie helps her tie her sash.
This statue represents the plight of the students of the 1963 Children's Crusade, in which over a thousand children gathered to march to speak to the mayor about segregation. The children were brutally attacked with fire hoses, police dogs, clubs, and arrested. Children around the age of seven were shoved into cells with grown men. This statue honors their fight, with the words on the platform under the children proudly reading, “I ain’t afraid of your jail.”
This, too, is an homage to the Children’s Crusade. Like the previous statue, it shows the danger these children faced. The officer accosts the boy, and his dog snaps and barks at him wildly. He does not attempt to control the dog, but pushes the boy back, as though he is the one at fault.
This exhibit, as frightening as it is, speaks volumes about the peril that protesters had to endure. As you walk through it, The dogs are close enough to touch, all sharp teeth, foaming mouths, and bulky frames. Still, it can only encapsulate a fraction of the terror of a real police dog lunging at you.
You’ve likely heard of peaceful protesters being attacked with high-pressure fire hoses. This exhibit demonstrates the brave protesters, looking just barely out of their preteens, being blasted with these cannons. This cruelty was enacted by Birmingham’s Commissioner of Public Safety Eugene "Bull" Connor, ironically enough.
Finally, standing tall over the park, the likeness of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stands where it can be easily seen by any who enter. The block under him not only states his date of birth, date of death, his goals in life, and facts about the statue itself, but a quote from Dr. King: “... Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice: Say that I was a drum major for peace..”
This statue serves as a reminder that, while it is important to acknowledge the hardships and suffering African-Americans fought through, it is equally important to recognize people like him, who are a beacon of hope in the darkest of times.
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