Bombingham

This article is about the Birmingham nickname. For other uses, see Bombingham (disambiguation).

Bombingham was a derisive nickname for Birmingham given because of numerous "unsolved" bombings of African American leaders' homes and meeting places during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and '60s.

The nickname was used predominantly by African Americans.¹ The name had been in use earlier, but by 1963, even before the 1963 bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church, the name was making the national press.¹ With the 16th Street Baptist bombing, there had been 50 bombings in Birmingham since 1947 linked to race issues, all of them officially unsolved at the time.²

Bombings

This is not a complete list

1. July 28, 1949 — Home of the Reverend Milton Curry Jr, at 1100 Center Street North.
2. August 2, 1949 — Second bomb at the Curry’s home.
3. April 22, 1950 — Third bomb at the Curry’s home.
4. December 21, 1950 — Home of Monroe and Mary Means Monk at 950 North Center Street, who had challenged the city of Birmingham’s zoning laws.
5. 1957 — Bomb at 1216 13th Street North in Fountain Heights was reportedly the fourth home bombed in less than a year.
6. August 20, 1963 – Home of civil rights lawyer Arthur Shores.
7. September 4, 1963 — Second bomb at the Shores' home.
8. September 15, 1963 — 16th Street Baptist Church bombing killed four young girls: Addie May Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley.

References

1. "Freedom--Now." (May 17, 1963) Time - accessed January 30, 2007.
2. Birnbaum, Jesse (September 27, 1963) "Where the Stars Fall" Time - accessed January 30, 2007.
3. “Horrific years of Bombingham”, AL.com, June 26, 2016
4. Birmingham Church Bombing - Black History - HISTORY.com, accessed 2017-06-01