The Project
The play “Somebody Done Bombed the 16th Street Baptist Church”, is based on a true story of a church bombing that happened in
Birmingham, Alabama on September 15, 1963, during the Civil Rights Movement. Four young girls were killed.
This play looks back at a time in America’s history when racial injustice lay at the threshold of African American’s doorsteps every day.
The performance takes the audience to Civil Rights meetings, to protests and marches, to school segregation, and to the homes of the four
girls the Saturday before the church bombing.
The play climaxes with a powerful funeral scene and a heartfelt eulogy by Dr. King that pierces hearts and souls. The emotions from this cast
pour right off the stage. This is an outstanding and moving performance and the moral of this play is Forgiveness.
The play was listed in the Buffalo News Gusto Top Ten Plays in Western New York for 2015.
Marie Hall Mullen
Marie was born in Birmingham, Alabama. In elementary school, she met a little girl whose name was Addie Mae Collins and a
friendship began. On Sunday, September 15, 1963, Addie and three other girls were killed in the Birmingham church bombing.
Their deaths and the circumstances surrounding this tragedy have played a tremendous role in Marie’s life and who she really is,
as a playwright.
Courtesy of The Buffalo News
More than fifty years later and living in Buffalo, New York, Marie has poured her effort into this poetic reflection on that era-
defining event in the production “Somebody Done Bombed the 16th Street Baptist Church” performed by the Mt. Olive Baptist
Church Theater Ministry. During Marie’s interview with Sarah Collins Rudolph, the only survivor in the ladies’ lounge during the
explosion, and the sister of her friend Addie, those were the words that Sarah heard from outside as she lie on the floor bleeding
after the church was bombed. Sarah heard the words “Somebody Done Bombed the 16th Street Baptist Church” from an elderly
gentleman outside.
Marie Hall Mullen
The Project
Our Mission & Vision
The purpose for the play is to inform, educate, and enlighten society about the history and significance of the civil rights struggle in the
United States. In addition, our mission is to perform the play in Buffalo, New York and raise funds to perform again in 2017 in
Birmingham, Alabama where the horrific event took place.
