Being a Christian and a Child of God, Cynthia Wesley attended the 16th Street Baptist Church with her parents, Claude and Gertrude Wesley, both of whom were teachers. Wesley and three of her girlhood friends where murdered in the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church on September 15, 1963, in Birmingham, Alabama. Wesley and the other girls became symbols of racial violence, styled as martyrs in the struggle for civil rights. In 2013, the United States Congress awarded each girl the Congressional Gold Medal.
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Church Affiliation:Sixteenth Street Baptist Church
Role in the Movement:The murder of Cynthia Dionne Wesley focused public attention on racial violence in the South.
Birth Place:Birmingham, AL
Born Date:April 30, 1949
Deceased Date:September 15, 1963
Place Lived as Adult:As a child, Cynthia lived in Birmingham, Alabama
Church Location:Birmingham, AL