Cross to Keynote Martin Luther King Jr. Unity Luncheon


Barbara Cross
Barbara Cross

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Observance Day Association will hold its annual Unity Luncheon on February 5, 2011 at the Savannah International Trade and Convention Center at 12 noon. The speaker for the event will be Barbara Cross, survivor of the 1963 Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing that killed four little girls.

Ms. Barbara Cross, a native of Richmond, Virginia, is the oldest of four children born to Rev. and Mrs. John Cross.

In June 1962, Barbara and her family moved to Birmingham, Alabama, where her father was called to pastor the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church.

On Sunday, September 15, 1963, a bomb exploded at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church and four little girls were killed.

Currently, Ms. Cross shares her historical and survivor experience with audiences nationwide. Also, Ms. Cross has been a guest on Montel & Oprah Winfrey Show and appeared with her father in the Oscar nominated documentary, “Four Little Girls” directed by Spike Lee. Rev. John Cross testified at all of the subsequent trials of the men indicted for the heinous crime. Barbara also testified during the 2002 trial.

On February 14, 2004, Barbara accepted commemorative pins given by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in recognition of the important role her father played in the prosecution of the case.

On December 6, 2009, Ms. Cross, who is a contributing writer, celebrated the release of a new inspirational book entitled “Sisters on the Journey” and is a member of the group which bears the same name as the book.

Ms. Cross was invited to participate in the annual Conference of the American Society of Trial Consultants (ASIC) on June 6, 2009. She shared her experience on being terrorized and the effect on families, the community and feeling dosed out of the American Justice System in the aftermath of the church bombing.

Ms. Cross is a retiree of Bell South Services where she served 30+ years in the field of Customer and Network Services.

For ticket information please call (912) 234-5502.


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