Saturday, April 13, 2013

Birmingham Church Bombing Victims' Families Split Over Congressional Gold Medal Honor

Birmingham Church Bombing Victims' Families Split Over Congressional Gold Medal Honor: BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Relatives of four black girls killed when Ku Klux Klan members bombed an Alabama church are split over how to mark the crime 50 years later, with some favoring a congressional medal honoring the victims and others seeking financial compensation.

Sisters of two victims said Friday they favor a proposed Congressional Gold Medal honoring the girls and don't want money for the decades of suffering endured by their families, differing with relatives of two other girls.

Dianne Braddock vividly recalls the day the powerful blast killed her 14-year-old sister, Carole Robertson, and she said a national honor would help her heal far more than any amount of money.

"I think the congressional medal brings the country together and makes a statement about where we are as a nation," said Braddock, of Laurel, Md.