4 LITTLE GIRLS {FOUR LITTLE GIRLS} (TV)
Summary
This documentary film focuses on the racially motivated bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama on September 15, 1963 that claimed the lives of four local girls. The program begins as Maxine and Chris McNair, parents of Carol Denise McNair, discuss their meeting and eventual marriage, and Denise's other relatives comment on her "inquisitive" nature and leadership skills. Chris comments on the challenges of finding a manual-labor job in the "steel town" and his struggle to explain the arbitrary nature of segregation to a young Denise, and former Birmingham mayor Arthur J. Hanes discusses the dangerous combination of union-based violence and Southern racism in the city. Carole Robertson's family members describe her similar early experiences with race-based rules, and her mother Alpha explains that she played the clarinet and was involved with the Girl Scouts. Several locals recall living near an area known as "Dynamite Hill" and having close calls with bombing attacks, and activist Fred Shuttlesworth remembers even a Klansman police officer commenting that the bombers were going "too far." Cynthia Wesley's sister Shirley Wesley King comments on her sister's sense of humor and eager involvement with the church, growing tearful as she recalls their mother's last words to her daughter.
The Freedom Riders began arriving in 1961, and photographs of locals violently beating the activists made headlines when the attackers failed to destroy the film evidence. Mayor Alfred Boutwell promised to open communication between blacks and whites, and Shuttlesworth's efforts soon led to a "minimal" compromise in which black shoppers were permitted access to certain local stores. Andrew Young praises Shuttlesworth's "fearless" nature, noting that he continued his work even after his own home was bombed. Addie Mae Collins' sister Janie Gaines comments on her shy sister's peaceable nature, with a friend remembering that she once conducted a "funeral" for a dead bird. Shuttlesworth then discusses infamous police commissioner Eugene "Bull" Connor, known for his strongly aggressive methods against civil rights activists, including the use of firehoses and dogs. James Bevel notes that blacks behaving with basic "self-respect" enraged Connor, comparing his control over the city to that of the "Old West," and New York Times editor Howell Raines calls him "the walking id of Birmingham." Governor George Wallace too was known for his "segregation forever" policies, though Wallace, now elderly and infirm, states that he arranged for free textbooks for black students and adds that his personal best friend is a black man.
The 16th Street Church soon became a central meeting place for the civil rights movement because of its advantageous location, and when the movement began to fail because of the relatively small demonstrations, Bevel and others began engaging local students – college, high school and younger – to join in the marches. Freeman Hrabowski III recalls being jailed for several days for joining the protests, which he considered a "badge of courage," and Maxine notes that even Denise, aged eleven, wanted to join in. Shirley recalls her fear at the cops' and firemen's violent reactions to their marches, and actor Ossie Davis states that the March on Washington, which occurred less than a month before the bombing, finally generated the necessary national attention to the movement. Barbara Nunn explains that her mother experienced a prophetic dream about a tragedy the 16th Street Church, and Reverend John Cross explains that the Sunday in question was a "Youth Day" in which children were invited to actively participate in the services. The families recall preparing for the seemingly ordinary day and heading to the church, but then hearing the sound of the explosion, which Barbara Cross at first believed to be a "Sputnik bomb" from Russia. As the survivors began searching through the rubble for their loved ones, Hrabowski learned that his classmate Cynthia was likely among the dead, and Carole's mother recalls hearing the tragic news from her husband. Chris describes seeing the four girls' bodies, though Maxine states that she wanted the personal "privilege" of identifying her own daughter. Addie Mae's sister Junie states that she suffered long-term traumatic effects, including claustrophobia, from the incident, and Bevel, scheduled to preach that morning, explains that he considered either finding the bombers and killing them in revenge or using the tragedy to spur on the Selma-based voting-rights movement.
Young recalls receiving an "urgent" call from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who admitted his dread of heading to Birmingham, and Cross explains that three of the families, though not Carole's, opted for a joint funeral service. Maxine describes the embalmer's difficulty in restoring Denise after her severe physical trauma, and Hrabowski recalls the grand scale of and media presence at the service honoring Addie Mae, Cynthia and Denise. Dr. King provided a "calming" speech, though Janie found it hard to focus on his words and Maxine soon fainted from the stress. Coretta Scott King reads a letter later written by her husband to the McNair family, and Maxine displays Denise's childhood toys as well as the piece of brick that killed her. Janie describes momentarily "forgetting" that her sister was gone in the subsequent months, and Walter Cronkite calls the bombing an "awakening" for white America. Former United States Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach declares that it was a terrorist act, though Reverend Jesse Jackson notes that the "crucifixion" became a "resurrection" because of the positive changes that followed. Several Southern churches have been burned in the mid '90s, however, possibly because of racial hatred.
In 1977, "pathological racist" Robert "Dynamite Bob" Chambliss was finally indicted for the bombing, though several other men were also identified as suspects, and attorney Bill Baxley adds that Chambliss was responsible for many other similar incidents. Hanes tours the courtroom where Chambliss was tried, explaining that he himself frequently listened to Joan Baez's song "Birmingham Sunday" during the process. Chris urged Baxley to go ahead with the case despite the "iffy" likelihood of conviction, and Raines recalls Chris' haunting testimony in which he examined gruesome post-mortem photos of the girls' bodies. The "huge break" came when Chambliss' niece testified about seeing dynamite in her uncle's home, and Chambliss was soon found guilty. Chris displays his favorite photo of his daughter, and Maxine decides not to question God's "divine plan" despite her grief. Alpha explains that she eventually "conquered" her anger and hatred over the bombing, happily noting that she still has many living family members to love.
Details
- NETWORK: HBO
- DATE: 1998 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:42:26
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 103641
- GENRE: Documentary
- SUBJECT HEADING: African-American Collection - News/Talk; Documentary; U.S. - History - 1961-1963
- SERIES RUN: HBO - TV, 1998
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Sheila Nevins … Executive Producer
- Jacqueline Glover … Coordinating Producer
- Sam Pollard … Producer
- Spike Lee … Producer, Director
- Michele Forman … Associate Producer
- Daphne McWilliams … Line Producer
- Terence Blanchard … Music by
- Chris McNair … Interviewee
- Maxine McNair … Interviewee
- Arthur Hanes Jr. … Interviewee
- Alpha Robertson … Interviewee
- Fred Shuttlesworth … Interviewee
- Shirley Wesley King … Interviewee
- Bill Baxley … Interviewee
- Andrew Young … Interviewee
- Janie Gaines … Interviewee
- James Bevel … Interviewee
- Howell Raines … Interviewee
- George Wallace … Interviewee
- Freeman Hrabowski III … Interviewee
- Ossie Davis … Interviewee
- Barbara Nunn … Interviewee
- John Cross … Interviewee
- Barbara Cross … Interviewee
- Junie Collins … Interviewee
- Coretta Scott King … Interviewee
- Walter Cronkite … Interviewee
- Nicholas Katzenbach … Interviewee
- Jesse L. Jackson Sr. … Interviewee
- Joan Baez
- Albert Boutwell
- Robert Chambliss
- Addie Mae Collins
- Eugene "Bull" Connor
- Martin Luther King Jr.
- Carol Denise McNair
- Carole Robertson
- Cynthia Wesley