Carole Robertson Day Memorial Celebration Williamson County Area Chapter Jack and Jill of America, Incorporated Honoring Legacy • Inspiring Service • Advancing Community Program Tribute A remembrance of courage, promise, and purpose. Carole Robertson Day · September Observance
Carole Robertson Day Carole Robertson Day honors the memory of Carole Rosamond Robertson, a member of the Jack and Jill teen group in Birmingham, Alabama. Carole was killed in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing on September 15, 1963, while preparing to participate in a youth civil rights march. She was 14 years old. At the Jack and Jill National Convention in San Francisco, the organization resolved that chapters would honor Carole each September through activities highlighting the ideals of human rights, civil rights, and racial harmony—goals she did not live to enjoy. Her mother served as Regional Director for the Southeastern Region. The Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham was a central gathering place for civil rights leaders and community activists during the Civil Rights Movement. Leaders including Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph David Abernathy, and Fred Shuttlesworth met there as the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Congress of Racial Equality supported efforts to register African Americans to vote in Birmingham. On Sunday, September 15, 1963, at 10:22 a.m., a bomb exploded at the church, killing Denise McNair, age 11; Addie Mae Collins, age 14; Carole Robertson, age 14; and Cynthia Wesley, age 14. Twenty-three others were injured. The four girls had been attending Sunday school. Rather than slowing the Civil Rights Movement, the tragedy intensified protests and helped build momentum for passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited racial discrimination in public accommodations and strengthened equal employment protections.
About Carole ~ Born April 24, 1949, Carole Rosamond Robertson was the third child of Alpha and Alvin Robertson. Her older siblings were Dianne and Alvin. Her father was a bandmaster at an elementary school, and her mother was a librarian. Carole was an avid reader, a straight-A student, and a member of Jack and Jill of America. She was also active in Girl Scouts, the Parker High School marching band, and the science club. At Wilkerson Elementary School, she sang in the choir. Carole grew up in Birmingham’s Smithfield community, a neighborhood established in the early 1900s for prominent Black professionals. Many homes in the district were designed by noted Black architect Wallace A. Rayfield. Childhood friend Florita Jamison Askew remembered the Robertson home as warm and welcoming, filled with love, friendship, and the aroma of Carole’s mother’s cooking. Askew and Carole took tap, ballet, and modern dance lessons at the Smithfield Recreation Center each Saturday, practicing diligently for annual recitals. Carole once shared that she hoped to teach history or do something historical. As Askew later reflected, it was deeply meaningful that Carole would remain part of history forever.
Carole’s Legacy ~ In a 1993 article in Essence magazine, internationally known activist Angela Y. Davis recalled growing up with Carole. She remembered Carole as “more like a baby sister” and described learning of the bombing while she was in France preparing to study at the Sorbonne. Davis also recalled that Carole had recently asked for a ride to a meeting of Friendship and Action, a newly formed organization created by Black and White parents and teachers to help children build relationships and challenge racism in schools. Davis emphasized the importance of remembering the girls as individuals, not only as victims of violence. She urged others to honor the lives, personalities, and possibilities of Carole Robertson, Cynthia Wesley, Addie Mae Collins, and Denise McNair, and to consider who they might have become. At the 25th anniversary celebration of Jack and Jill of America, Inc., during the Eastern Regional Conference in Philadelphia, members adopted a resolution establishing an annual award for an outstanding high school graduate in Carole Robertson’s memory. The award honors her legacy and inspires young people to strive for excellence. It continues to be presented annually at regional teen conferences. At the 1964 National Convention in Seattle, Jack and Jill of America, Incorporated honored Carole Robertson during Carole Robertson Recognition Night. The organization affirmed that each September, chapters would highlight the human rights goals Carole did not live to experience, ensuring that her memory continues to inspire service, reflection, and action.
In Memoriam: Carole Robertson 1949–1963