The Birmingham Times
Lisa McNair, whose sister was one of four little girls killed on Sept. 15, 1963 in the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, has published a book “Dear Denise: Letters to the Sister I Never Knew” and will hold a reception and signing 5 p.m. Friday, September 16 at the Sixteenth Street Church.
Denise McNair, along with Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson, and Addie Mae Collins, was murdered on Sept. 15, 1963, when members of the Ku Klux Klan placed a bomb at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. At 11 years old, Denise was the youngest victim of the tragedy.
The book signing event is sponsored by The Morgan Project (TMP), a nonprofit organization with the mission to teach civil rights and social justice through Birmingham’s history of conflict and courage.
Lisa, born almost one year to the day after Denise’s death, has written 40 letters with titles like “The Sister I Never Knew”, “Your Death Left Much Sorrow”, “Thinking White, High School Was Painful”, “The Trials, Church Can Be a Painful Place”, and “Daddy Is With You Now” to her beloved sister. Her moving, deeply personal letters eloquently tell her sister what has happened since her death.
The events begin at 5 p.m. at the church with the book launch followed by a reception at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, where supporters may purchase a copy of the book which can also be purchased here. For more information contact Lisa McNair at lisa@speaklisa.com.
