Silver FoxTwin Roy Salutes Sarah Collins Rudolph on Anniversary of 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing

roywillwrite

Sep 15

2 min read

By Silver Fox Twin Roy Williams

🦊 Silver Fox Salute: Remembering Sarah Collins Rudolph & the 5th Little Girl

September 15, 1963. September 15, 2026.

63 years later — Birmingham remembers. NEVER FORGET.

Today marks the 63rd anniversary of the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, a horrific act of racist violence that took the lives of four little Black girls attending Sunday school:

🕊️ Addie Mae Collins, 14

🕊️ Denise McNair, 11

🕊️ Carole Robertson, 14

🕊️ Cynthia Wesley, 14

But there was a fifth little girl in that Sunday school room who survived.

Her name is Sarah Collins Rudolph — Addie Mae’s little sister.

I had the honor of meeting Sarah years ago at a Birmingham Public Library event. We immediately shared a special connection. Both of us know what it means to lose a sibling in a violent public tragedy.

Sarah survived the bombing but was seriously injured and lost sight in one eye. She has spent decades carrying the physical and emotional scars of that terrible day while keeping the memory of her sister and the other three girls alive.

Sarah has also taken the day back in her own way — turning unimaginable pain into purpose and making sure the world remembers. She honored her sister Addie Mae and shared her story in her memoir, The Fifth Little Girl.

That mission resonates deeply with me.

My brother, Army Major Dwayne Williams, was killed at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. Like Sarah, I have learned that remembering isn’t simply about looking backward.

It’s about taking the day back.

It’s about telling the story.

It’s about honoring those we lost.

And it’s about making sure the next generation never forgets.

Today, my Silver Fox salute goes to Sarah Collins Rudolph — a survivor, sister, witness and keeper of history.

🙏🏽 Please pray for Sarah, her family, and all the families whose lives were forever changed on September 15, 1963.

NEVER FORGET THE 4 LITTLE GIRLS.

NEVER FORGET THE 5TH LITTLE GIRL WHO SURVIVED.

NEVER FORGET THE 16TH STREET BAPTIST CHURCH.

SEPTEMBER 15, 1963 — NEVER FORGET.

BIRMINGHAM REMEMBERS. ❤️🖤💚

— Silver Fox Twin Roy Williams 🦊