Four Little Girls: Birmingham 1963

PHOTO BY THOMAS J. O’HALLORAN

Darrell M. Ayers Vice President, Education

The Congress of Racial Equality march in Washington, D.C. on September 22, 1963, in memory of the children killed in the Birmingham bombings.

Behind the Curtain The Playwright Christina Ham is an award-winning playwright known nationally and internationally for her work. Her credits include Crash Test Dummies as well as Ruby!: The Story of Ruby Bridges about the first African American student to attend an all-white school in the South.

The Director Phylicia Rashad has directed August Wilson’s plays Gem of the Ocean and Joe Turner’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 Staging Today’s performance of Four Little Girls: Birmingham 1963 features actors reading from scripts and does not require scenery, props, or costumes. Stylistically referred to 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 on the play’s action ■ church songs help set the mood, reflect the play’s themes, and speak directly to 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 Language About 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 during this 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 was like for these young ladies living in 1963 Birmingham, Alabama.” — Christina Ham

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.

present

Four Little Girls: BIRMINGHAM 1963 A STAGED READING Written by Christina Ham Directed by Phylicia Rashad Original music and arrangements by Kathryn Bostic

“What bothers me most is that their names have been virtually erased: They are inevitably referred to as ‘the four Black girls’ killed in the Birmingham church bombing.”

— Angela Davis, political activist and childhood friend of Carole Robertson

www.kennedy-center.org/artsedge Cuesheets are produced by ARTSEDGE, 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 been developed 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

The Millennium Stage is brought to you by

PERFORMANCE GUIDE

Michael M. Kaiser President

Cuesheet

David M. Rubenstein Chairman

Project1VOICE and Howard University in cooperation with Duke Ellington School of the Arts African Continuum Theatre Company The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

They Had Three Minutes About the Play Told against the backdrop of the racially divided city of Birmingham, Alabama, Denise, Carole, Addie Mae, and Cynthia are trying to live their young lives. You’ll find them talking about homework and hairstyles, dance lessons and ribbons, cute boys and dreams of their futures—typical teenage stuff without any hint of color 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 to Birmingham, the prospect of change stirs feelings of hope 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 of dramatic scenes, images, history, and song. Like a dreamscape, the play shifts easily between people and places to glimpse the personal stories stolen from these four girls on September 15 when their church, the 16th Street Baptist Church, was bombed.

This is their story.

About the Times About the Movement By 1963, the Civil Rights Movement had become a powerful force against injustices and racism faced by African Americans, especially in Southern states.

Legal victories and nonviolent protests brought national attention to the ugly truths of bigotry and racial segregation. As a result, public opinion shifted to the side of civil rights causes.

Segregationists reacted by digging in, determined to block racial integration by any means necessary, even with help from state politicians. In his inaugural speech in January 1963, Alabama governor George Wallace announced “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.” During this tense period of struggle, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., brought its campaign of nonviolent protests to Birmingham.

The 16th Street Baptist Church became one of the headquarters for the protesters.

About Birmingham

Denise McNair

Carole Robertson

Addie Mae Collins

Cynthia Wesley

(age 11)

(age 14)

(age 14)

(age 14)

“Niecie” liked to organize plays, dance performances, and poetry readings to raise money for charity. She talked of becoming a doctor.

A Girl Scout and straight-A student, Carole played the clarinet in the school band and enjoyed science and math.

One of seven children, Addie Mae loved art and was a wicked softball pitcher.

Cynthia was the daughter of two teachers. She loved books, 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 a policeman and Virgil was shot while he rode on the handlebars of his brother’s bike.

Johnny Robinson Virgil Ware

Dr. King called Birmingham “probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States.”

Blacks and whites were not allowed to socialize together, and “Jim Crow laws” required blacks to use separate water fountains and separate bathrooms.

The Ku Klux Klan was the secret society of enforcers of such discrimination, terrorizing black neighborhoods with threats and attacks. One black neighborhood had been bombed so often that locals referred to it as “Dynamite Hill,” while the city itself was nicknamed “Bombingham.”

As protests gained momentum in May 1963, firemen blasted young black marchers with fire hoses, and police set attack dogs on them. The shocking scenes were captured by news cameras and broadcast across the country and around the world. The city’s white leaders could no longer conceal how shameful their community’s bigotry had become. They agreed to negotiate with black leaders to end racial segregation.

But then on September 15, 1963, the bomb went off on 16th Street.

They Had Three Minutes About the Play Told against the backdrop of the racially divided city of Birmingham, Alabama, Denise, Carole, Addie Mae, and Cynthia are trying to live their young lives. You’ll find them talking about homework and hairstyles, dance lessons and ribbons, cute boys and dreams of their futures—typical teenage stuff without any hint of color 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 to Birmingham, the prospect of change stirs feelings of hope 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 of dramatic scenes, images, history, and song. Like a dreamscape, the play shifts easily between people and places to glimpse the personal stories stolen from these four girls on September 15 when their church, the 16th Street Baptist Church, was bombed.

This is their story.

About the Times About the Movement By 1963, the Civil Rights Movement had become a powerful force against injustices and racism faced by African Americans, especially in Southern states.

Legal victories and nonviolent protests brought national attention to the ugly truths of bigotry and racial segregation. As a result, public opinion shifted to the side of civil rights causes.

Segregationists reacted by digging in, determined to block racial integration by any means necessary, even with help from state politicians. In his inaugural speech in January 1963, Alabama governor George Wallace announced “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.” During this tense period of struggle, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., brought its campaign of nonviolent protests to Birmingham.

The 16th Street Baptist Church became one of the headquarters for the protesters.

About Birmingham

Denise McNair

Carole Robertson

Addie Mae Collins

Cynthia Wesley

(age 11)

(age 14)

(age 14)

(age 14)

“Niecie” liked to organize plays, dance performances, and poetry readings to raise money for charity. She talked of becoming a doctor.

A Girl Scout and straight-A student, Carole played the clarinet in the school band and enjoyed science and math.

One of seven children, Addie Mae loved art and was a wicked softball pitcher.

Cynthia was the daughter of two teachers. She loved books, 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 a policeman and Virgil was shot while he rode on the handlebars of his brother’s bike.

Johnny Robinson Virgil Ware

Dr. King called Birmingham “probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States.”

Blacks and whites were not allowed to socialize together, and “Jim Crow laws” required blacks to use separate water fountains and separate bathrooms.

The Ku Klux Klan was the secret society of enforcers of such discrimination, terrorizing black neighborhoods with threats and attacks. One black neighborhood had been bombed so often that locals referred to it as “Dynamite Hill,” while the city itself was nicknamed “Bombingham.”

As protests gained momentum in May 1963, firemen blasted young black marchers with fire hoses, and police set attack dogs on them. The shocking scenes were captured by news cameras and broadcast across the country and around the world. The city’s white leaders could no longer conceal how shameful their community’s bigotry had become. They agreed to negotiate with black leaders to end racial segregation.

But then on September 15, 1963, the bomb went off on 16th Street.

PHOTO BY THOMAS J. O’HALLORAN

Darrell M. Ayers Vice President, Education

The Congress of Racial Equality march in Washington, D.C. on September 22, 1963, in memory of the children killed in the Birmingham bombings.

Behind the Curtain The Playwright Christina Ham is an award-winning playwright known nationally and internationally for her work. Her credits include Crash Test Dummies as well as Ruby!: The Story of Ruby Bridges about the first African American student to attend an all-white school in the South.

The Director Phylicia Rashad has directed August Wilson’s plays Gem of the Ocean and Joe Turner’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 Staging Today’s performance of Four Little Girls: Birmingham 1963 features actors reading from scripts and does not require scenery, props, or costumes. Stylistically referred to 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 on the play’s action ■ church songs help set the mood, reflect the play’s themes, and speak directly to 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 Language About 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 during this 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 was like for these young ladies living in 1963 Birmingham, Alabama.” — Christina Ham

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.

present

Four Little Girls: BIRMINGHAM 1963 A STAGED READING Written by Christina Ham Directed by Phylicia Rashad Original music and arrangements by Kathryn Bostic

“What bothers me most is that their names have been virtually erased: They are inevitably referred to as ‘the four Black girls’ killed in the Birmingham church bombing.”

— Angela Davis, political activist and childhood friend of Carole Robertson

www.kennedy-center.org/artsedge Cuesheets are produced by ARTSEDGE, 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 been developed 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

The Millennium Stage is brought to you by

PERFORMANCE GUIDE

Michael M. Kaiser President

Cuesheet

David M. Rubenstein Chairman

Project1VOICE and Howard University in cooperation with Duke Ellington School of the Arts African Continuum Theatre Company The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts