59 years after a Ku Klux Klan bombing in an Alabama church that killed her sister, three other Black girls and left Sarah Collins Rudolph without an eye and with glass fragments still lodged within her body, she is still waiting for the state to compensate for her injuries.
In her apology to Sarah Collins Rudolph for her “untold grief and suffering” two years ago, Gov. Kay Ivey avoided the topic of monetary compensation by stating that legislative action was required. However, despite the efforts of Rudolph’s attorneys, nothing has been done, leaving the issue of payment unresolved despite the fact that 9/11 victims and victims of other assaults received compensation.
The state’s delay has outraged Sarah Collins Rudolph, who is known as the “Fifth Little Girl” after surviving the notorious attack on the 16th Street Baptist Church that was portrayed in Spike Lee’s 1997 documentary “4 Little Girls.”
Sarah Collins Rudolph is holding the state responsible for what happened to her
She unequivocally holds the state of Alabama and then-Governor George Wallace responsible for what happened to her and her family telling the AP;
“If they hadn’t stirred up all that racist hate that was going on at the time I don’t believe that church would have been bombed“. Every month, Ms. Rudolph gets a $90 bill to pay for the prosthetic eye that she has to wear. The state should be paying that bill and breaking her off with millions more.
According to Sarah’s attorney Ishan Bahabha:
“She deserves justice in the form of compensation for the grievous injuries, and costs, she has had to bear for almost 60 years,” he said. “We will continue to pursue any available avenues to get Sarah the assistance she needs and deserves.”
