four little girls: birmingham 1963
DESCRIPTION
Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Birmingham, Alabama church bombing that took the lives of four young girls, this reading remembers this seminal event in American history and how it helped to galvanize the American Civil Rights Movement.TRANSCRIPT
CuesheetP
ER
FO
RM
AN
CE
GU
IDE
David M. Rubenstein
Chairman
Michael M. Kaiser
President
Darrell M. Ayers
Vice President, Education
The Millennium Stage was
created and underwritten by
James A. Johnson and Maxine
Isaacs to make the performing
arts accessible to everyone in
fulfillment of the Kennedy Center's
mission to its community and
the nation.
Additional funding for the
Millennium Stage is provided by
Capital One Bank, DC Commission
on the Arts and Humanities,
The Isadore and Bertha Gudelsky
Family Foundation, Inc.,
The Meredith Foundation,
The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz
Foundation, Suzy and Bob Pence,
Dr. Deborah Rose and Dr. Jan A.J.
Stolwijk, U.S. Department of
Education, and the Millennium
Stage Endowment Fund.
Millennium Stage Endowment
Fund—James A. Johnson and
Maxine Isaacs, Fannie Mae
Foundation, James V. Kimsey,
Gilbert† and Jaylee† Mead,
Mortgage Bankers Association of
America, Anonymous, and other
gifts to secure the future of the
Millennium Stage.
www.kennedy-center.org/artsedge
Cuesheets are produced byARTSEDGE, an education program
of the Kennedy Center.
Learn more about Education at
the Kennedy Center at
www.kennedy-center.org/education
The contents of this Cuesheet have beendeveloped under a grant from the U.S.
Department of Education and do not
necessarily represent the policy of the U.S.
Department of Education. You should not
assume endorsement by the Federal
Government.
© 2013 The John F. Kennedy Center for
the Performing Arts
Four LittleGirls:BIRMINGHAM 1963
Project1VOICE and Howard Universityin cooperation with
Duke Ellington School of the ArtsAfrican Continuum Theatre Company
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
present
A STAGED READINGWritten by Christina Ham
Directed by Phylicia Rashad
Original music and arrangements by Kathryn Bostic
“What bothers me most is that their nameshave been virtually erased: They are inevitably
referred to as ‘the four Black girls’ killed inthe Birmingham church bombing.”
— Angela Davis, political activist andchildhood friend of Carole Robertson
Behind the CurtainThe PlaywrightChristina Ham is an award-winning playwright known nationally andinternationally for her work. Her credits include Crash Test Dummies as well asRuby!: The Story of Ruby Bridges about the first African American student toattend an all-white school in the South.
The DirectorPhylicia Rashad has directed August Wilson’s plays Gem of the Ocean and JoeTurner’s Come and Gone, among other productions. She is also a Tony Award®–winning actress, and has performed many roles for television, film, and stage.She is best known for her role as Claire Huxtable on The Cosby Show.
About the StagingToday’s performance of Four Little Girls: Birmingham 1963 features actors readingfrom scripts and does not require scenery, props, or costumes. Stylistically referredto as Reader’s Theater, this staging invites the audience to turn up their imaginations.
Watch and listen how…� different actors perform multiple characters� projected images help create the setting� actors explain the time and place similar to a Greek chorus commenting onthe play’s action
� church songs help set the mood, reflect the play’s themes, and speak directlyto the spirit of the civil rights movement
Think about…� what today’s world would look like to Addie Mae, Carole, Cynthia, and Denise� what issues discussed in the play are still relevant today� how you would feel growing up with the awful “d” word (“don’t”)
A Note on LanguageAbout the use of racist slurs in the script, the playwright writes:“The bastardization of the word “Negro” into the word “nigger” and how it was used duringthis period to subjugate African Americans (particularly in the Jim Crow South) is unfortunate.However, it was necessary for me to use this word in this play to document what life waslike for these young ladies living in 1963 Birmingham, Alabama.” — Christina Ham
The Congress of Racial Equality march in Washington, D.C. on September 22, 1963, inmemory of the children killed in the Birmingham bombings.
PH
OTO
BY
THO
MA
SJ.
O’H
ALL
OR
AN
The Millennium Stage is brought to you by
They Had Three MinutesAbout the PlayTold against the backdrop of the racially divided cityof Birmingham, Alabama, Denise, Carole, Addie Mae,and Cynthia are trying to live their young lives. You’llfind them talking about homework and hairstyles,dance lessons and ribbons, cute boys and dreams oftheir futures—typical teenage stuff without any hint ofcolor lines.
But there are lines drawn everywhere—at water fountains,on buses, and at the drugstore soda fountain. Just as
the Civil Rights Movement brings its protests toBirmingham, the prospect of change stirs feelings ofhope and hatred and a fear of violence. And at night,the girls wonder: Whose house will be bombed next?
Four Little Girls: Birmingham 1963 is a tapestry ofdramatic scenes, images, history, and song. Like adreamscape, the play shifts easily between peopleand places to glimpse the personal stories stolenfrom these four girls on September 15 when theirchurch, the 16th Street Baptist Church, was bombed.This is their story.
Segregationists reacted by digging in, determined toblock racial integration by any means necessary,even with help from state politicians. In his inauguralspeech in January 1963, Alabama governor GeorgeWallace announced “segregation now, segregationtomorrow, segregation forever.” During this tenseperiod of struggle, the Southern Christian LeadershipConference led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., broughtits campaign of nonviolent protests to Birmingham.The 16th Street Baptist Church became one of theheadquarters for the protesters.
About BirminghamDr. King called Birmingham “probably the mostthoroughly segregated city in the United States.”Blacks and whites were not allowed to socializetogether, and “Jim Crow laws” required blacks to useseparate water fountains and separate bathrooms.The Ku Klux Klan was the secret society of enforcersof such discrimination, terrorizing blackneighborhoods with threats and attacks. One blackneighborhood had been bombed so often that localsreferred to it as “Dynamite Hill,” while the city itselfwas nicknamed “Bombingham.”
As protests gained momentum in May 1963, firemenblasted young black marchers with fire hoses, andpolice set attack dogs on them. The shocking sceneswere captured by news cameras and broadcast acrossthe country and around the world. The city’s whiteleaders could no longer conceal how shameful theircommunity’s bigotry had become. They agreed tonegotiate with black leaders to end racial segregation.
But then on September 15, 1963, the bomb went offon 16th Street.
Addie Mae Collins(age 14)One of seven children,Addie Mae loved artand was a wickedsoftball pitcher.
Carole Robertson(age 14)A Girl Scout andstraight-A student,Carole played theclarinet in the schoolband and enjoyedscience and math.
Denise McNair(age 11)“Niecie” liked toorganize plays, danceperformances, andpoetry readings toraise money forcharity. She talked ofbecoming a doctor.
Cynthia Wesley(age 14)Cynthia was thedaughter of twoteachers. She lovedbooks, band,and math.
Two boys were also killed that day in Birmingham—Johnny Robinson (age 16) and Virgil Ware (age 13).Sometime after the bombing, Johnny was killed by apoliceman and Virgil was shot while he rode on thehandlebars of his brother’s bike.
About the TimesAbout the MovementBy 1963, the Civil Rights Movement had become apowerful force against injustices and racism faced byAfrican Americans, especially in Southern states.Legal victories and nonviolent protests broughtnational attention to the ugly truths of bigotry andracial segregation. As a result, public opinion shiftedto the side of civil rights causes.
Virgil Ware
Johnny Robinson
They Had Three MinutesAbout the PlayTold against the backdrop of the racially divided cityof Birmingham, Alabama, Denise, Carole, Addie Mae,and Cynthia are trying to live their young lives. You’llfind them talking about homework and hairstyles,dance lessons and ribbons, cute boys and dreams oftheir futures—typical teenage stuff without any hint ofcolor lines.
But there are lines drawn everywhere—at water fountains,on buses, and at the drugstore soda fountain. Just as
the Civil Rights Movement brings its protests toBirmingham, the prospect of change stirs feelings ofhope and hatred and a fear of violence. And at night,the girls wonder: Whose house will be bombed next?
Four Little Girls: Birmingham 1963 is a tapestry ofdramatic scenes, images, history, and song. Like adreamscape, the play shifts easily between peopleand places to glimpse the personal stories stolenfrom these four girls on September 15 when theirchurch, the 16th Street Baptist Church, was bombed.This is their story.
Segregationists reacted by digging in, determined toblock racial integration by any means necessary,even with help from state politicians. In his inauguralspeech in January 1963, Alabama governor GeorgeWallace announced “segregation now, segregationtomorrow, segregation forever.” During this tenseperiod of struggle, the Southern Christian LeadershipConference led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., broughtits campaign of nonviolent protests to Birmingham.The 16th Street Baptist Church became one of theheadquarters for the protesters.
About BirminghamDr. King called Birmingham “probably the mostthoroughly segregated city in the United States.”Blacks and whites were not allowed to socializetogether, and “Jim Crow laws” required blacks to useseparate water fountains and separate bathrooms.The Ku Klux Klan was the secret society of enforcersof such discrimination, terrorizing blackneighborhoods with threats and attacks. One blackneighborhood had been bombed so often that localsreferred to it as “Dynamite Hill,” while the city itselfwas nicknamed “Bombingham.”
As protests gained momentum in May 1963, firemenblasted young black marchers with fire hoses, andpolice set attack dogs on them. The shocking sceneswere captured by news cameras and broadcast acrossthe country and around the world. The city’s whiteleaders could no longer conceal how shameful theircommunity’s bigotry had become. They agreed tonegotiate with black leaders to end racial segregation.
But then on September 15, 1963, the bomb went offon 16th Street.
Addie Mae Collins(age 14)One of seven children,Addie Mae loved artand was a wickedsoftball pitcher.
Carole Robertson(age 14)A Girl Scout andstraight-A student,Carole played theclarinet in the schoolband and enjoyedscience and math.
Denise McNair(age 11)“Niecie” liked toorganize plays, danceperformances, andpoetry readings toraise money forcharity. She talked ofbecoming a doctor.
Cynthia Wesley(age 14)Cynthia was thedaughter of twoteachers. She lovedbooks, band,and math.
Two boys were also killed that day in Birmingham—Johnny Robinson (age 16) and Virgil Ware (age 13).Sometime after the bombing, Johnny was killed by apoliceman and Virgil was shot while he rode on thehandlebars of his brother’s bike.
About the TimesAbout the MovementBy 1963, the Civil Rights Movement had become apowerful force against injustices and racism faced byAfrican Americans, especially in Southern states.Legal victories and nonviolent protests broughtnational attention to the ugly truths of bigotry andracial segregation. As a result, public opinion shiftedto the side of civil rights causes.
Virgil Ware
Johnny Robinson
CuesheetP
ER
FO
RM
AN
CE
GU
IDE
David M. Rubenstein
Chairman
Michael M. Kaiser
President
Darrell M. Ayers
Vice President, Education
The Millennium Stage was
created and underwritten by
James A. Johnson and Maxine
Isaacs to make the performing
arts accessible to everyone in
fulfillment of the Kennedy Center's
mission to its community and
the nation.
Additional funding for the
Millennium Stage is provided by
Capital One Bank, DC Commission
on the Arts and Humanities,
The Isadore and Bertha Gudelsky
Family Foundation, Inc.,
The Meredith Foundation,
The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz
Foundation, Suzy and Bob Pence,
Dr. Deborah Rose and Dr. Jan A.J.
Stolwijk, U.S. Department of
Education, and the Millennium
Stage Endowment Fund.
Millennium Stage Endowment
Fund—James A. Johnson and
Maxine Isaacs, Fannie Mae
Foundation, James V. Kimsey,
Gilbert† and Jaylee† Mead,
Mortgage Bankers Association of
America, Anonymous, and other
gifts to secure the future of the
Millennium Stage.
www.kennedy-center.org/artsedge
Cuesheets are produced byARTSEDGE, an education program
of the Kennedy Center.
Learn more about Education at
the Kennedy Center at
www.kennedy-center.org/education
The contents of this Cuesheet have beendeveloped under a grant from the U.S.
Department of Education and do not
necessarily represent the policy of the U.S.
Department of Education. You should not
assume endorsement by the Federal
Government.
© 2013 The John F. Kennedy Center for
the Performing Arts
Four LittleGirls:BIRMINGHAM 1963
Project1VOICE and Howard Universityin cooperation with
Duke Ellington School of the ArtsAfrican Continuum Theatre Company
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
present
A STAGED READINGWritten by Christina Ham
Directed by Phylicia Rashad
Original music and arrangements by Kathryn Bostic
“What bothers me most is that their nameshave been virtually erased: They are inevitably
referred to as ‘the four Black girls’ killed inthe Birmingham church bombing.”
— Angela Davis, political activist andchildhood friend of Carole Robertson
Behind the CurtainThe PlaywrightChristina Ham is an award-winning playwright known nationally andinternationally for her work. Her credits include Crash Test Dummies as well asRuby!: The Story of Ruby Bridges about the first African American student toattend an all-white school in the South.
The DirectorPhylicia Rashad has directed August Wilson’s plays Gem of the Ocean and JoeTurner’s Come and Gone, among other productions. She is also a Tony Award®–winning actress, and has performed many roles for television, film, and stage.She is best known for her role as Claire Huxtable on The Cosby Show.
About the StagingToday’s performance of Four Little Girls: Birmingham 1963 features actors readingfrom scripts and does not require scenery, props, or costumes. Stylistically referredto as Reader’s Theater, this staging invites the audience to turn up their imaginations.
Watch and listen how…� different actors perform multiple characters� projected images help create the setting� actors explain the time and place similar to a Greek chorus commenting onthe play’s action
� church songs help set the mood, reflect the play’s themes, and speak directlyto the spirit of the civil rights movement
Think about…� what today’s world would look like to Addie Mae, Carole, Cynthia, and Denise� what issues discussed in the play are still relevant today� how you would feel growing up with the awful “d” word (“don’t”)
A Note on LanguageAbout the use of racist slurs in the script, the playwright writes:“The bastardization of the word “Negro” into the word “nigger” and how it was used duringthis period to subjugate African Americans (particularly in the Jim Crow South) is unfortunate.However, it was necessary for me to use this word in this play to document what life waslike for these young ladies living in 1963 Birmingham, Alabama.” — Christina Ham
The Congress of Racial Equality march in Washington, D.C. on September 22, 1963, inmemory of the children killed in the Birmingham bombings.
PH
OTO
BY
THO
MA
SJ.
O’H
ALL
OR
AN
The Millennium Stage is brought to you by