I went to ‘Bombingham’ for a second time for the love of the Four Little Girls but saw a symbol of hate at Hilton Hotel

I was shocked to see the picture of the veterans of the Confederate army on the 8th floor of The Tutwiler. I would have felt the same revulsion had I seen the pictures of Hitler or Osama bin Laden

After the Montgomery bus boycott, has the time come for a global Hilton Hotel boycott for supporting racism in America’s Deep South?

I write this piece with great sorrow that white suprematism is so deeply rooted in the Deep South. I came to know some parts of black history, that they were subjected to the worst form of crimes against humanity since 1619 very late in my life, despite being associated with progressive politics for social justice for more than a quarter century before that. I was 45 in 2005, the year I won a fellowship of the Diversity Institute at the Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. That opened my eyes how criminally unfair and unkind white America has been towards blacks.

To learn more about the civil rights movement and my “prophet” — my David, Jesus and Mohammed in one, Dr Martin Luther King Jr.— and the blood and tears struggle of black folks for equality and human dignity, I had travelled to Birmingham, Alabama for the first time in August. In doing so on August 4, I am glad I beat Ketanji Brown Jackson, first associate judge of the Supreme Court of the United States, by about 40 days in visiting “Bombingham” where the KKK bombed the homes and churches of the black folks during the civil rights movement for committing the cardinal sin of demanding justice and equality.

The NPR cited Birmingham historian Horace Huntley as saying, "There were 40 plus bombings that took place in Birmingham between the late 40s and the mid 60s. Forty-some unsolved bombings.”

Phillip Howard, program manager of the Civil Rights People and Places Program at Conservation Fund, sheds light on the life and achievements of legendary civil rights lawyer, Arthur Shores.

According to Barbara Shores, “August 4 is the date when our home was bombed the first time.” Shores is the daughter of the legendary civil rights lawyer Arthur Shores and along with her sister Helen Shores Lee, recounted those turbulent days in their book, The Gentle Giant of Dynamite Hill.

Shirley Bank of Scenic View breakfast and lunch sings I have a dream when she sees Dr MLK picture on my shirt.

Much water has flowed down the 318-mile Alabama river since then but the symbols of racism still holds on perniciously in Birmingham, I learned to my shock and despair during my second visit September 12 to 15.

During my August visit, I came to know the Birmingham civic organizations, in conjunction with the mayor’s office were organizing a 60th year commemoration of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing that martyred Four Little Girls.

Their martyrdom on September 15, 1963 at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church woke up America from its deep slumber. Clockwise from top: Addie Mae Collins (14), Cynthia Wesley (14), Carole Robertson (14), and Carol Denise McNair (11).

"They could have broken barriers. They could have shattered ceilings. They could have grown up to be doctors or lawyers or judges, appointed to serve on the highest court in our land," Judge Jackson said in a moving keynote address Friday.

According to Smithsonian’s Our American Story, “Carol Robertson was a straight A student who loved to dance. Cynthia Wesley excelled in math. Addie Mae Collins was quiet, athletic, and had a flare for art. Denise McNair wrote plays for the kids in her neighborhood.”

During my last visit on August 4, when I was at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church I saw Norman Askew of the church parked right behind where my car was parked. We became instant friends. A Birmingham native, Askew, now in his eighties, pointed out towards the Kelly Ingram Park and told me he was fighting on the streets of Birmingham for blacks in the 1960s to be treated as humans. To my surprise, like myself he too works in the recovery field. Askew was very kind and also brought my ticket to visit the church.

Norman Askew of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. 8/4/2023– picture by author.

I was unable to go to the Historic Bethel Baptist Church of the legendary Rev. Fred Lee Shuttlesworth, who was equal in stature to Dr King and was his comrade. It was raining that day and a local black guide advised me it was not the best idea to drive there in the rains. I gathered the church is in the black working “hoods” or ghettoes

Reading the Mayor of Birmingham official website, I learned about the planned historic commemoration being organized at the Sixteenth Street Baptist church, where Judge Jackson will speak and that among the other activities, the Historic Bethel Baptist Church Community Restoration Fund, the Minnesota Humanities Center, the Alabama Humanities Alliance, the National Park Foundation and the Alabama African American Civil Rights Heritage Sites Consortium was organizing “There is a Balm in Gilead: Healing from The Events of 1963.”

So the opportunity arose for me to go to Birmingham to do multiple things: show my love and reverence for the Four Little Girls, have fellowship with folks with an interest in civil rights, meet with Rev Thomas Wilder of the historic Bethel Church, and listen to the speech by Judge Jackson. I informed my supervisor I like to cut short my vacation in August as I wanted to return to attend the commemoration in September.

The writer with Patricia Shuttlesworth Massengill, eldest daughter of the legendary Rev Fred Lee Shuttlesworth.

Though I am a secular humanist, I had no issue with the biblical title of the conference, which was being organized by the Historic Bethel Baptist Church Restoration Fund. Conference chief organizer Rev Dr Martha Bouyer, executive director of the fund, points to the importance of Birmingham by recalling what President John F. Kennedy had said, “But for Birmingham, we would not have been here today.”

But those who wanted to preserve the status quo of early 1960s are still there even today in Birmingham. Carolyn Maull McKinstry, a close friend of the Four Little Girls, who was just a few feet away when the KKK bomb exploded, writes about it in her book (with Denise George) While the World Watched.

“One contingent in Birmingham seemed to make a serious effort to “leave the 1960s” and move forward to justice and equality for all citizens. But the the other segment seemed content on staying put—maintains the old status quo.”

“Freedom, Justice, Equality,” roars Bishop Calvin Woods, 90, who used to drive Dr Martin Luther King Jr. in Birmingham.

However, I was not being able to register as the seats were sold out. Determined to return to Birminghan for the commemoration week of the Four Little Girls, I contacted Marie Sutton at the mayor’s office and with her help was able to register for the conference.

As I pondered my return to Birmingham, at first I booked a room at the very simple and clean Tourway Inn of Birmingham. However, I understand that like many Americans some blacks also give importance to what hotel one stays so I cancelled that booking and instead made a new booking at Hilton’s The Tutwiler, also known as the Hampton Inn and Suites. This place had the added benefit of being much closer to the Sheraton where the three-day conference There is Balm in Gilead was being held and the hotel also offered breakfast.

The next morning out of my writer’s curiosity that the dining room was located on the eighth floor of the hotel, much before anyone woke up, I went to see what else is there. To my utter shock I saw a huge portrait of the Confederate veterans— the white supremacists who fathered the KKK—, responsible for lynching nearly five thousand Americans, three-fourths of whom were blacks. According to EJI, Jefferson County, headquartered by Birmingham, ranks eighth in American counties in terms of lynchings, with nearly 30 reported lynchings.

The Associated Press cited Derryn Moten, chairman of the history and political science department at Alabama State, as saying Confederate veterans founded the KKK. It is a historical fact that Confederate army veteran Lt. General Nathan Bedford Forrest was the first Grand Wizard of the KKK. According to the Encyclopedia of Alabama, “Klansmen across Alabama named their chapters after noted Confederates such as Robert E. Lee and Nathan Bedford Forrest in recognition of the new Klan’s supposed connection to the state’s Confederate past.”

The racist picture, mounted on a glass mantle, has a handwritten inscription on the left side “The 26th Annual Confederate Veterans Reunion— Tutwiler Hotel lobby.” On the right side the date of the picture is handwritten as “May 1916.”

I sent an email to The Tutwiler general manager Kay French, and copied it to Hilton Hotel’s Baltimore-based image maker Mark Weinstein, to protest the monstrosity.

“I felt tormented when I saw the picture of the veterans of the Confederate Army prominently posted outside the dining room area. The picture is dated May 1916.

“Can you please immediately take down the picture as it is tantamount to rubbing salt in the wounds of the colored people.”

I also sent a separate email to Mark Weinstein, chief marketing officer of the $40.84 billion Hilton Hotel chain.

After nearly 26 hours, Ms French replied to the email, stating, “So sorry for the delay I was out of the office yesterday morning at a breakfast event , I do apologize for any discomfort and have removed the picture.

“Again my sincerest apologies.”

However, after 19 minutes Ms French wrote, “I just wanted to reach out again to follow up, we had to cover the picture as we run into an issue removing it from the large mirror it is attached to , we have covered the picture and have called to have it professional removed by engineering on Monday.

“Thank you and again my apologies.”

I wrote another email which said, “There is no justification to delay the removal of a horrific Hitler-style picture.

“This matter is not only of serious interest to U.S. citizens but people all over the world where Hilton does business.

“The nightmarish torment it caused me cannot be captured in words.”

The multibillion Hilton Hotel can even fly in top handyman from anywhere around the world to get the job done in no more than couple of hours.

But that is not enough. The Hilton Hotel must make living amends by not only putting the picture of the Four Little Girls at the place where the picture of the bloodsucking Confederates were but also erect statues of the civil rights leaders at its hotels in the Deep South.

Hilton Hotel officially states that it has a zero tolerance for racism but has faced criticism and lawsuits by blacks.

(Below: Writer with Mayor of Birmingham, Attorney Randall Woodfin. To paraphrase Dr Martin Luther King Jr. “I am in Birmingham because injustice is still here.”).