Eric Holder, Condoleezza Rice among scheduled speakers for Alabama church bombing's 50th anniversary

9/15/2013

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Attorney General Eric Holder and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice are among those gathering in Birmingham to mark the 50th anniversary of a Ku Klux Klan bombing that killed four girls at the 16th Street Baptist Church.

The Justice Department says both are scheduled to speak at the University of Alabama at Birminghamthis afternoon, then will attend the church’s memorial service. They will be joined by Gov. Robert Bentley, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell and Birmingham Mayor William Bell.

The church was an organizing spot for civil rights demonstrations, and a dynamite bomb planted outside went off as Birmingham’s public schools were being integrated for the first time.

Rice grew up in Birmingham and knew one of the bombing victims.

A sculpture honoring the four girls was unveiled Saturday in Birmingham.