“And yet they died nobly. They are the martyred heroines of a holy crusade for freedom and human dignity. And so this afternoon in a real sense they have something to say to each of us in their death.”
Delivered on September 18, 1963 at funeral service for three of the children — Addie Mae Collins, Carol Denise McNair, and Cynthia Diane Wesley — killed in the bombing. A separate service was held for the fourth victim, Carole Robertson.