Smithfield Library Hosting Book Signing with 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing Survivor
What: Book Signing with Author Sarah Collins Rudolph, 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing Survivor
When: 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 15
Where: Smithfield Branch Library, #1 8th Avenue West
Details: Join us as Smithfield Branch Library hosts a Meet & Greet with Sarah Collins Rudolph, co-author of The 5th Little Girl: Soul Survivor of the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing. Four little black girls died in the September 15, 1963 bombing, set by white supremacists. Hear the story of the only survivor, then 12-year-old Sarah Collins. For more information, call 205-324-8428 or visit www.cobpl.org.
Smithfield Library Hosting Book Signing with 16 Street Baptist Church Bombing Survivor
Birmingham, Ala. – Many people know the stories of the four little girls who died when white supremacists bombed the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham on September 15, 1963.
But few know much about the fifth little girl in the group, then 12-year-old Sarah Collins, who was the soul survivor of the blast, despite suffering major injuries including blindness in one eye.
Sarah Collins Rudolph of Birmingham shares her thoughts on the tragedy in the book The 5th Little Girl: Soul Survivor of the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing, written by Tracy Snipe in conversation with Collins Rudolph.
This Wednesday, September 15, 2021, on the 58th anniversary of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Collins Rudolph will tell her story at 3:00 p.m. during a Meet & Greet/Book Signing at the Smithfield Branch Library, #1 8th Avenue West.
Also in attendance at Wednesday’s book signing/talk by Collins Rudolph will be LaVon Stennis Williams, author of the new book The introduction to Sarah Collins, co-written with Sarah Collins Rudolph and George Rudolph. Her book was released last week, September 8.
Sequoria Lewis, Smithfield Library Branch Manager, said the library is excited to host Sarah Collins Rudolph on the anniversary of the tragedy that shocked the nation and prompted the world to look closely at the hatred towards blacks taking place in Birmingham during the 1960s civil rights movement.
“There are those who have made an impact on history yet we should never forget those who have forever been affected by events recorded in history," Lewis said. "Get ready to meet Sarah, survivor of the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing.”
The 5th Little Girl chronicles the life of Sarah Collins at the height of the Civil Rights era including the day that changed her life forever-September 15, 1963.
Many may minimize the tangible effects that the tragedy brought about because of their conceived notion that it was not as “drastic” as death. Yet the challenges of losing sight or an older sister can produce a “what if” syndrome that could potentially stick in the recesses of your mind for a lifetime, said Lewis, who has read the book.
“Chapter twelve is where I really nestled in because it is at this point I was fortunate to meet Sarah as an 11 year old girl,” Lewis said. “Did you know that she carries pieces of that fretful day with her wherever she goes?”
To find out more, join Smithfield Branch Library and discover more about Sarah Collins Rudolph, The 5th Little Girl.
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