While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age During the Civil Rights Movement
From the book description “On September 15, 1963, a Klan-planted bomb went off in the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Fourteen-year-old Carolyn Maull was just a few feet away when the bomb exploded, killing four of her friends in the girl’s rest room she had just exited. It was one of the seminal moments in the Civil Rights movement, a sad day in American history . . . and the turning point in a young girl’s life.”
Living through the civil rights upheaval of the 1960’s as a teenager was difficult for Ms. McKinstry. Not only did the bomb explode mere feet from where she was standing but she also lost four of her closest friends in the Baptist Church bombing and that impacted her life in ways she herself did not even realize until she was an adult. Despite living and growing up in “the most segregated and racially violent city in America", with the help of a strong family and unwavering faith she managed to go on with her life, education and career. Even so, it was difficult when many years later she was called to testify in the bomber’s trial, bringing every minute of that fateful day back to the forefront.
Growing up in Canada, I am probably not as informed about the civil rights movement as I could be but I found this book both interesting and enlightening. My only complaint would be that it felt a little disjointed. Ms. McKinstry slips into different time periods from time to time with no real explanation or warning. She also interspersed her telling of her story with quotes from speeches by Martin Luther King, JFK and others and I found that rather than adding to that particular section of her story it distracted me from what she herself was saying.
Living through the civil rights upheaval of the 1960’s as a teenager was difficult for Ms. McKinstry. Not only did the bomb explode mere feet from where she was standing but she also lost four of her closest friends in the Baptist Church bombing and that impacted her life in ways she herself did not even realize until she was an adult. Despite living and growing up in “the most segregated and racially violent city in America", with the help of a strong family and unwavering faith she managed to go on with her life, education and career. Even so, it was difficult when many years later she was called to testify in the bomber’s trial, bringing every minute of that fateful day back to the forefront.
Growing up in Canada, I am probably not as informed about the civil rights movement as I could be but I found this book both interesting and enlightening. My only complaint would be that it felt a little disjointed. Ms. McKinstry slips into different time periods from time to time with no real explanation or warning. She also interspersed her telling of her story with quotes from speeches by Martin Luther King, JFK and others and I found that rather than adding to that particular section of her story it distracted me from what she herself was saying.