It’s Sunday, September 15, 1963, and four Klansmen have planted dynamite under the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. The explosion killed four young girls and injured many others. History records this incident as a turning point in the Civil Rights movement.
John Coltrane, his heart broken, was driven to tears, anger, and frustration. But instead of giving in to hate, he chose to create. He composed his elegy, “Alabama.” Coltrane patterned the tone on Dr. Martin Luther King’s sermon, delivered from the church sanctuary three days after the bombing. Like the speech, “Alabama’s” tone changes midway through, rising from sorrow and mourning to renewed determination against hatred and racism. If the Birmingham bombing was indeed a turning point, then “Alabama” was its clarion call.
“Alabama” speaks a powerful message, one that haunts our society even today. Over fifty years later, America is still rocked by church bombings, shocked to its core by racism, hatred, and anger. Police and protestors still clash. The walls of divide, though battered, still stand. The Struggle continues, but hope lives on.
This episode of “Soundtrack to the Struggle” was written and produced by Ron Adkins. Executive Producers Dennis Green and George Dorman. Hosted by Hollis Monroe.
Podcast (soundtrack): Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS