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Take Note: Sarah Collins Rudolph, '5th little girl' Survived 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing

Photo of Sarah Collins in 1963 after the church bombing and Sarah Collins Rudolph in 2011

On Sept. 15, 1963, a bomb exploded at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama.  Five girls were preparing for worship in the church basement; four were killed by the blast, but the fifth girl survived.  Her name is Sarah Collins Rudolph.  We talked with her about her physical and emotional scars, and about why her story is often overlooked in the larger discussions about the bombing and its role in energizing the Civil Rights Movement.  

Patty Satalia was a senior producer/host for WPSU-TV and FM from 1987 to 2017. Prior to joining Penn State Public Broadcasting, she worked in commercial television in Pittsburgh, first as a film editor and fill-in capsule news anchor for WPGH-TV, and later, for WPTT-TV as public affairs director and co-host of the talk-show, People, Places and Things.
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