September 15, 1963: A Short Story

The memory of September 15th, 1963 is still persistently clawing at my consciousness, every day reminding me of how grateful I am to be alive. Although, I would have never guessed that I would still remember every waking detail so clearly nearly 14 years later. I often catch myself waking up in a pool of sweat feeling the heat radiating off of my scarred skin from the previous years of nightmares. Every now and then I can even smell the burning of my flesh as i did for weeks upon weeks after the incident. Nevertheless the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing was a tragedy and it is truly a shame that me and all of Birmingham, Alabama had to wait 14 years for justice. I remember first awakening that day with a huge sparkling grin and the smell of coffee lingering down the halls. The song birds were singing a harmonious melody that I swear I could have …show more content…
Without thinking i ran as fast as i could towards the forgotten gate, i felt like my legs were going to give out but i had not wanted something so badly then to get out of this nightmare so i ran and didn’t stop. When I got outside, i noticed the front stairs were gone and the streets were filled with sobbing church members and there were men in suits everywhere, the lovely melody of the birds were replaced by the sirens that were blaring and excitement turned to fear and pain, it was just heartbreaking. I started hearing about the KKK and all the puzzle pieces formed. Almost instantaneously I dropped to ground, my heart was so heavy with all the pain and sorrow and hatred. I always heard about white men and Ma admired Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech about freedom and equality but i guess i never just grasped the concept. My family and all of the members of my church had done nothing but live, how did we deserve