As Joyce Vance notes, when the Birmingham church bombing occurred, the FBI soon determined that four Klansmen planted the bomb: Thomas Blanton, Robert Chambliss, Bobby Frank Cherry, and Herman Cash. But they were not indicted even after their names were given in a memo to FBI director J. Edgar Hoover. 14 years after the bombing, Chambliss was prosecuted. Blanton and Cherry were convicted in 2001 and 2002. Cash died unconvicted. #Birmingham #Alabama #violence /4 https://joycevance.substack.com/p/60-years
And why, all these years down the road, keep remembering? This is why, Vance proposes: "We have obviously not learned the lessons of that history. Today, acts of domestic terrorism committed by white supremacists are not uncommon in our country. ... In some cases, justice is a long time coming. It should not be, but it is. The delay does not make it any less important, when it finally is done. Justice moves our communities and our country forward." #Birmingham #Alabama #violence /5