INDIANAPOLIS — The Walker celebrates Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday through a Journey to Freedom from Racism – Moving Forward While Looking Back: The story of the “Fifth Little Girl” Sarah Collins Rudolph. In the presentation, Sarah Collins Rudolph shows she is more powerful than the bomb that damaged her right eye and killed her sister in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in 1963.
Planted by white supremacists, the bomb killed four young girls who were preparing to worship. Rudolph was in the bathroom with her sister during Sunday School when the bomb exploded. It was an act of terrorism that shocked the country and drove Congress to pass the historic 1964 Civil Rights Act. That horrific day, there were five victims; four killed, including her sister Addie Mae, but the “fifth little girl,” Rudolph, demonstrated strength by surviving the blast and getting on with her life. The Walker will present a powerful presentation by Rudolph — one in which she talks about forgiveness.
The event will be held Jan. 19, beginning with a Freedom March from the Indianapolis Urban League to the Madame Walker Theatre at 8 a.m., followed at 10 a.m. by the presentation. The Indianapolis Urban League is at 777 Indiana Ave., and the Walker is at 617 Indiana Ave. Admission is free. For more information, call 236-2099 or visit www.thewalkertheatre.org
