Sarah Collins Rudolph, the lone survivor of a 1963 church bombing, and Fate Morris, whose sister died in the blast, discuss their desire for compensation from the bombing during an interview in Birmingham, Ala. Rudolph was badly injured in the bombing, which killed sister Addie Mae Collins, and Morris said he is still haunted by memories of digging through the church rubble. The two say they will turn down a proposed Congressional Gold Medal honoring the victims.BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Relatives of four black girls killed when Ku Klux Klan members bombed an Alabama church are split over how to mark the crime 50 years later, with some favoring a congressional medal honoring the victims and others seeking financial compensation.
Sisters of two victims said today they favor a proposed Congressional Gold Medal honoring the girls and don’t want money for the decades of suffering endured by their families, differing with relatives of two other girls.
Dianne Braddock vividly recalls the day the powerful blast killed her 14-year-old sister, Carole Robertson, and she said a national honor would help her heal far more than any amount of money.
“I think the congressional medal brings the country together and makes a statement about where we are as a nation,” said Braddock, of Laurel, Md.
Lisa McNair, the younger sister of 11-year-old Denise McNair, said she and her parents favor the medal but aren’t interested in restitution, reparations or any other form of compensation.