Four Spirits: 50th Anniversary Event

“He spoke almost accusingly, as though she and the college students had caused the disruption. Actually, they’d done very little, and Stella felt ashamed. Only a few people, like Marti Turnipseed, had dared to align themselves with freedom. Tom somebody, too—very quiet, inoffensive-looking young man.” -- from Four Spirits, by Sena Jeter Naslund '64

Set primarily in Birmingham during the civil rights era, Four Spirits is dedicated to the four girls--Addie Mae Collins, Carole Robertson, Cynthia Wesley and Denise McNair-- who were killed in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing on Sept.15, 1963. It artfully weaves together the lives of blacks and whites, activists and bystanders, the wealthy and the poor, to create a panoramic tapestry of the social and political landscape of the Deep South during this turbulent period in our history.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the historic civil rights events of 1963. To help celebrate the movement and the great strides our state has taken to move forward, Birmingham-Southern will host Sena Jeter Naslund '64 as part of its Forward, Ever Birmingham commemoration program. Naslund's talk, "Four Spirits: Presentation and Reading" is open to the public, and will be held in the Norton Theatre at 11am on Sept. 17.