Carolyn Maull Mckinstry
Carolyn Maull McKinstry is a woman teeming with a prolific revolution of black history. She certainly has a story to share with the world. McKinstry has brazenly divulgated her truth. Carolyn was a young teen who grew up in the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. She was a young activist who was blissfully involved in the civil rights movement of the 1960s. The world watched black folks go through racist acts like church bombings, Jim Crow coupled with white supremacy, and other terrifying acts of evil. Carolyn Maull McKinstry witnessed seeing her four friends (ages 11-14) in church during the last day of their lives. September 15,1963 is an unforgettable memory for Carolyn Maull McKinstry. She was in the church that day but she survived the bombing.
Carolyn Maull McKinstry was an assistant to the 16th Street Baptist Church. She went to the church early Sunday morning around 9 a.m. to take some secretary work to the church office. She saw her friends Denise McNair, Cynthia Westley, Addie Mae Collins, and Carol Robertson in the women’s bathroom on the day of the bombing. She spoke to them as they were being normal teenage girls in the bathroom, laughing and talking. She had to get her reports done for the church. She said hello and kept going. As she left her four friends, she went upstairs and heard the phone ring in the church office. She went inside and no one was there so she answered it. A man on the other end of the phone warned her that the bombing was going to take place in 3 minutes. On the phone he referenced having only 3 minutes. As a young girl, Carolyn probably didn’t think much of the call. She hung up the phone and walked into the sanctuary of the church. After about 15 seconds the bomb went off and exploded killing her four friends in the 16th Street Baptist Church. The time was at 10:22 in the morning.
Can you imagine praising the Lord together or singing in the choir with your young friends in church? It is reflective of something positive. Most of us think church is supposed to be a safe place to worship. What about seeing your friends one minute and then seeing them dead in the next few minutes? This experience mentally interfered with Carolyn Maull McKinstry's faith and frustration. She was tormented by her encounter with the church bombing for years. I encourage you to read her book. Give it to all of your children and young people to read. They need to know their history. You need to know your history as well. Carolyn didn't understand why it happened. She often wondered why God allowed her to live and not her four friends. This exacerbated her activism to the tenth power. She wrote a book about her personal testimony of the 16th Street Baptist bombing. Carolyn Maull McKinstry continues to educate and lecture on race relations through love and grace, also on the history of the 16th Street Baptist Church because she lived through it.
This is why we should and can share black history with our children and families. It's not illegal for black folks to read like it used to be! It's a shame that some of us won't even vote. Some folks act like they were always allowed to eat where they wanted to eat or go to school where they wanted to go. Please don't forgot history like this. We still have barriers to knock down. God has brought black folks from a mighty long way. You can dress the way you want and buy what you want. You can build companies and build wealth. You can get involved politically yet some of you choose to be apathetic about everything. Please don't ignore or throw away all the sacrifices made on your behalf. Its shameful!
Carolyn Maull McKinstry was an assistant to the 16th Street Baptist Church. She went to the church early Sunday morning around 9 a.m. to take some secretary work to the church office. She saw her friends Denise McNair, Cynthia Westley, Addie Mae Collins, and Carol Robertson in the women’s bathroom on the day of the bombing. She spoke to them as they were being normal teenage girls in the bathroom, laughing and talking. She had to get her reports done for the church. She said hello and kept going. As she left her four friends, she went upstairs and heard the phone ring in the church office. She went inside and no one was there so she answered it. A man on the other end of the phone warned her that the bombing was going to take place in 3 minutes. On the phone he referenced having only 3 minutes. As a young girl, Carolyn probably didn’t think much of the call. She hung up the phone and walked into the sanctuary of the church. After about 15 seconds the bomb went off and exploded killing her four friends in the 16th Street Baptist Church. The time was at 10:22 in the morning.
Can you imagine praising the Lord together or singing in the choir with your young friends in church? It is reflective of something positive. Most of us think church is supposed to be a safe place to worship. What about seeing your friends one minute and then seeing them dead in the next few minutes? This experience mentally interfered with Carolyn Maull McKinstry's faith and frustration. She was tormented by her encounter with the church bombing for years. I encourage you to read her book. Give it to all of your children and young people to read. They need to know their history. You need to know your history as well. Carolyn didn't understand why it happened. She often wondered why God allowed her to live and not her four friends. This exacerbated her activism to the tenth power. She wrote a book about her personal testimony of the 16th Street Baptist bombing. Carolyn Maull McKinstry continues to educate and lecture on race relations through love and grace, also on the history of the 16th Street Baptist Church because she lived through it.
This is why we should and can share black history with our children and families. It's not illegal for black folks to read like it used to be! It's a shame that some of us won't even vote. Some folks act like they were always allowed to eat where they wanted to eat or go to school where they wanted to go. Please don't forgot history like this. We still have barriers to knock down. God has brought black folks from a mighty long way. You can dress the way you want and buy what you want. You can build companies and build wealth. You can get involved politically yet some of you choose to be apathetic about everything. Please don't ignore or throw away all the sacrifices made on your behalf. Its shameful!
A white supremacist surreptitiously placed a box of dynamite attached with a timer under the steps of the 16th Street Baptist Church. Unfortunately black folks and church folks lived in fear all the time in light of churches being bombed throughout Birmingham, Alabama. The 16th Street Baptist Church was a renowned meeting place for activism and organizing. The Klu Klux Klan didn't like that! Sarah Collins was in the back part of the church when the bombing went off. She also escaped death. Her eye was injured but by the grace of God she is alive and well today to tell her testimony. Sarah was the sister of Addie Mae. Sarah was devastated. She didn't understand why it happened. She said she had nightmares and no counseling. For many years, Sarah Collins and Carolyn Maull McKinstry never talked about the incident. They kept their pain hidden inside!
This historic church bombing showcased the worse unimaginable evil. A warm rainy Sunday morning turned into torture and pain. It was barbaric and racist. It happened in a church of all places! The folks responsible was not brought to justice until many years (15-20) later.
I had the honor to hear Pastor Arthur Price speak recently. He is the present pastor of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. He was the guest speaker during Black History Month last week at my worship experience. Before Pastor Price went into his sermon he briefly touched on the history and heritage of the 16th Street Baptist Church and black folks. I didn't know the 16th Street Baptist Church was the oldest African American church in Alabama. It was first built in 1873. It stood proud and tall. The majority of white folks back then didn't like the fact of black folks having such a nice church. They lusted to destroy it! It was a beautiful edifice. Pastor Price shared that black people should not forget the path and the price paid for their civil rights. Work was done by other black folks, on the behalf of the black people thriving right now. Ways were made so they (we) could have the things or luxuries they have today. Those resilient black folks did not get the chance to see the fruit of their labor that you (we) are so abundantly enjoying.
This historic church bombing showcased the worse unimaginable evil. A warm rainy Sunday morning turned into torture and pain. It was barbaric and racist. It happened in a church of all places! The folks responsible was not brought to justice until many years (15-20) later.
I had the honor to hear Pastor Arthur Price speak recently. He is the present pastor of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. He was the guest speaker during Black History Month last week at my worship experience. Before Pastor Price went into his sermon he briefly touched on the history and heritage of the 16th Street Baptist Church and black folks. I didn't know the 16th Street Baptist Church was the oldest African American church in Alabama. It was first built in 1873. It stood proud and tall. The majority of white folks back then didn't like the fact of black folks having such a nice church. They lusted to destroy it! It was a beautiful edifice. Pastor Price shared that black people should not forget the path and the price paid for their civil rights. Work was done by other black folks, on the behalf of the black people thriving right now. Ways were made so they (we) could have the things or luxuries they have today. Those resilient black folks did not get the chance to see the fruit of their labor that you (we) are so abundantly enjoying.
