Remembering Four Little Girls - by Jenny You

It was 1963 when a church in Birmingham, Alabama was bombed, ending the lives of four young girls.

Today, we stood before the 16th Street Baptist Church; the very church where the bombing took place. It felt as if we were witnessing a part of the tragic history that most of us weren't alive to see.

If the four girls were still alive today, they'd be around the age 60. That's younger than my grandmother.

It was strange to see tall buildings, including a corporate AT&T building, surrounding the historical site that many from across the country come to visit. This place was once nothing more than streets, houses, small businesses, and of course churches.

I think being able to be there physically and touch the buildings, trees, benches, and other objects that are a part of yesteryear makes everything seem more real.

What happened in the 50s and 60s during the movement seems so surreal, as in it doesn't seem realistic to treat people in these ways. The mistreatment was so out of this world and it blows my mind that anyone could hose down children with a firehose or lynch living, breathing human beings. The realness is what makes this trip is what makes this trip so worth while to me.

I'm excited to see what other parts of history we get to touch and see. These four young girls' lives were real. They belonged to a family and had hobbies, talents, likes, dislikes, etc. I hope we will continue this trip with open eyes. History was only fifty years ago.