On Sunday, September 15, 1963, four Klansmen 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.
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.
Here is John Coltrane and his classic quartet, performing “Alabama.”
“Soundtrack to the Struggle” is written and produced by Ron Adkins. Executive Producer Dennis Green. Host: Hollis Monroe.
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