Historical February–March 2001 article. Dates, prices, services and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
St. Louis Comptroller Darlene Green told attendees at this year’s annual Martin Luther King program that a tragic civil rights event during the 1960s spurred her to go into public service. Green, a longtime resident of the neighborhood, made her comments during the program, sponsored by the Skinker-DeBaliviere Community Council.
The event was held Jan. 15 at Grace Methodist Church. Green spoke of the 1963 bombing of a church in Birmingham, Ala., that killed four black girls.
The crime shocked the nation and galvanized the civil rights movement.
The girls were Denise McNair, 11; Carole Robertson, 14; Addie Mae Collins, 14; and Cynthia Wesley, 14. Although it took years, two former Ku Klux Klansmen were arrested last year and charged with murder in the case. Green said that as a young girl, she was inspired by the four girls who were killed, and told herself that she would not let others hold her back.
She encouraged the audience to follow King’s dream and not to allow themselves to be pushed back, when they knew they were right. Green’s remarks received a standing ovation. At the end of the program, Green held hands with other neighbors in the traditional singing of “We Shall Overcome.”
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, February–March 2001.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Archival transcription note: This report dates commemoration January 15; adjacent Lana Stein report says January 14. No invented reconciliation.
Original source: SD_Times2001_02.pdf, printed page(s) 3; PDF page(s) 3.
