Thursday, May 1, 2014

Paradox of Memory Personified: Sarah Collins

Yesterday, Period 5 was honored to listen and share with Ms. Sarah Collins- a survivor of a 1963 Klu Klux Klan terrorist attack on 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Four young girls, including Ms. Collins' sister, Addie Mae, were killed and Ms. Collins suffered the loss of her left eye.

While many know the story of the Birmingham Church Bombing (The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963), Ms. Collins has been forgotten. Her story of traumatic violence, and an overwhelming forgiveness of racial injustice, reminds us of the importance of remembering the past in preparing for the present.

In remembering that the title of the sermon to be preached on that terrible Sunday morning was "A Love that Forgives," Ms. Collins challenges us to find forgiveness in the midst of suffering.

Watch a short documentary:

Sign a petition so Ms. Collins can tell her story to more people:
Click Here!