Victim Assistance; More Resources. 27 febrero, 2023 . The church's pastor, the Reverend John Cross Jr., attempted to placate the crowd by loudly reciting the 23rd Psalm through a bullhorn. Don Cochran disputed this position, arguing that Alabama law provides for "conspiracies to conceal evidence" to be proven by both inference and circumstantial evidence. Cross testified that each girl present had been taught to contemplate how Jesus would react to affliction or injustice, and they were asked to learn to consider, "What Would Jesus Do? In the closing argument for the defense, attorney Mickey Johnson argued that Cherry had nothing to do with the bombing, and reminded the jurors that his client was not on trial for his beliefs, stating: "It seems like more time has been spent here throwing around the n-word than proving what happened in September 1963. [37] In her later recollections of the bombing, Collins would recall that in the moments immediately before the explosion, she had watched her sister, Addie, tying her dress sash. McNair's . [120] Cherry pleaded not guilty to the charges and did not testify on his own behalf during the trial. Burns had secretly recorded several conversations with Blanton in which the latter (Blanton) had gloated when talking about the bombing, and had boasted the police would not catch him when he bombed another church. [99] In spite of a rebuttal argument by the defense, Judge Garrett ruled that some sections were too prejudicial, but also that portions of some audio recordings could be introduced as evidence. [129] In this role, Rowe acted as an agent provocateur between 1961[130] and 1965. "[104], In addition to calling attention to flaws in the prosecution's case, the defense exposed inconsistencies in the memories of some prosecution witnesses who had testified. "[99] Cross testified that she would usually have accompanied her friends into the basement lounge to change into robes for the forthcoming sermon, but she had been given an assignment. At least 14 others are injured in. Idaho Murders: What Led Police to Bryan Kohberger, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads, Name: Addie Mae Collins, Birth Year: 1949, Birth date: April 18, 1949, Birth State: Alabama, Birth City: Birmingham, Birth Country: United States. On the morning of Sunday, September 15, 1963, 14-year-old Collins was in the church basement room with a group of other children. The FBI identified four suspects, all Ku Klux Klan members, but no charges were. The deaths in a sense, are on the hands of each of us. Died: January 2, 2022 (Who else died on January 2?) (Sims and Farley were later convicted of second-degree manslaughter,[47] although the judge suspended their sentences and imposed two years' probation upon each youth. We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right,contact us! Cherry, who now lives in Mabank, Texas, and another ex-Klansman, Thomas Blanton Jr., were indicted on murder charges two years ago. Within one week of being sworn into office, Baxley had researched original police files into the bombing, discovering that the original police documents were "mostly worthless". [83], In his closing argument before the jury on November 17,[84] Baxley acknowledged that Chambliss was not the sole perpetrator of the bombing. I haven't done anything! That bomb took the lives of four young girls, including my friend and playmate [Carol] Denise McNair. Ware, aged 13, was shot in the cheek and chest with a revolver[16] in a residential suburb 15 miles (24km) north of the city. 16th Street Church Bombing Part 32 of 51 pages(1-249) View. Before the day ended, at least two other African American children had been slain: 16-year-old Johnny Robinson was shot by police as he fled down an alley, and 13-year-old Virgil Ware was shot and killed by white youths while riding his bicycle. The girls' death and the long wait for justice raises important questions about civil rights, racism, and the nature of restorative justice. In his rebuttal closing argument, defense attorney Art Hanes Jr. attacked the evidence presented by the prosecution as being purely circumstantial,[87] adding that, despite the existence of similar circumstantial evidence, Chambliss had not been prosecuted in 1963 of the church bombing. On September 15, 1963, in Birmingham, a bomb exploded on 16th street Baptist Church at 10:22 A. . ), One individual who went to the scene to help search for survivors, Charles Vann, later recollected that he had observed a solitary white man whom he recognized as Robert Edward Chambliss (a known member of the Ku Klux Klan) standing alone and motionless at a barricade. "[124] Johnson reiterated that there was no hard evidence linking Cherry to the bombing, but only evidence attesting to his racist beliefs dating from that era, adding that the family members who had testified against him were all estranged and therefore should be considered unreliable witnesses. I didn't bomb that church. By Rowe's own later admission, while serving as an FBI informant, he had shot and killed an unidentified Black man and had been an accessory to the murder of Viola Liuzzo.[131]. for only $16.05 $11/page. She was distressed about a remark made by Martin Luther King, who had said that the mindset that enabled the murder of the four girls was the "apathy and complacency" of Black people in Alabama. [46][48]), Some civil rights activists blamed George Wallace, Governor of Alabama and an outspoken segregationist, for creating the climate that had led to the killings. [22]:57 Although the Cahaba Boys had fewer than 30 active members,[60] among them were Thomas Blanton Jr., Herman Cash, Robert Chambliss, and Bobby Cherry. [93] In the years since his incarceration, Chambliss had been confined to a solitary cell to protect him from attacks by fellow inmates. 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 . [40] Police urged parents of Black and white youths to keep their children indoors, as the Governor of Alabama, George Wallace, ordered an additional 300 state police and 500 Alabama National Guardsmen to assist in quelling unrest. the hideaway book ending > birmingham church bombing victims autopsy ; February 26, 2023 The 'who' is every little individual who talks about the 'niggers' and spreads the seeds of his hate to his neighbor and his son What's it like living in Birmingham? Before his trial, Chambliss remained free upon a $200,000 bond raised by family and supporters and posted October 18. [12] The city had no Black police officers or firefighters[12] and most Black residents could expect to find menial employment in professions such as cooks and cleaners. 18. The crime was calculated, not random. BIRMINGHAM, Alabama, Sept 13 (Reuters) - When a church bombing killed four young black girls on a quiet Sunday morning in 1963, life for a young Condoleezza Rice changed forever. The last surviving parent of the four murdered girls will be buried tomorrow. The church was used as a meeting-place for civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph David Abernathy, and Fred Shuttlesworth, for organizing and educating marchers. It's never too late for a man to be held accountable for his crimes." [132] These polygraph results had convinced some FBI agents of Rowe's culpability in the bombing. The act of whyte supremacy terrorism . Martin Luther King Jr. delivered this. dirty native american jokes; . [107], The trial lasted for one week. "[45], Two more Black youths, Johnny Robinson and Virgil Ware, were shot to death in Birmingham within seven hours of the Sunday morning bombing. "[17][51], Carole Rosamond Robertson was laid to rest in a private family funeral held on September 17, 1963. [33], Between 14 and 22 additional people were injured in the explosion,[34][35] one of whom was Addie Mae's younger sister, 12-year-old Sarah Collins. Each received a $100 fine (the equivalent of $972 as of 2023[update]) and a suspended 180-day jail sentence. At 10:22 a.m., a bomb exploded under the steps of the church.. [7] Herman Cash had died in 1994, and was never charged with his alleged involvement in the bombing. [25] According to one survivor, the explosion shook the entire building and propelled the girls' bodies through the air "like rag dolls". The "Four Spirits" was created as a memorial to the four little girls that died in the 16th Street Church bombing in 1963: Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carolyn Robertson and . In his opening statement to the jurors, defense attorney John Robbins acknowledged his client's affiliation with the Ku Klux Klan and his views on racial segregation. (The first three schools in Birmingham to be integrated would do so on September 4. Four . These deliberations continued until the following day. Their deaths made all of us focus upon the ugliness of those who would punish people because of the color of their skin. "[124] Cochran outlined Cherry's extensive record of racial violence dating back to the 1950s, and noted that he had experience and training in constructing and installing bombs from his service as a Marine demolition expert. The sole stained-glass window largely undamaged in the explosion depicted Christ leading a group of young children. Future United States Senator Doug Jones successfully prosecuted Blanton and Cherry. Cochran also added that although the evidence to be presented would not conclusively show that Cherry had personally planted or ignited the bomb, the combined evidence would illustrate that he had aided and abetted in the commission of the act. President Barack Obama would go on to sign a bill awarding the four young victims of the tragic 1963 Birmingham church bombing with the Congressional Gold Medal.. Barbara Cross, a friend of the girls who survived the church bombing, once recounted to TIME how close she was to possibly being the fifth person killed. Cherry, a 71-year-old retired truck driver, is accused of being part of a group of Klansmen who planted a bomb outside the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, a rallying place for civil rights protesters in the early 1960s. 1963 white supremacist terrorist attack in Birmingham, Alabama, United States, The four girls killed in the bombing (clockwise from top left) Addie Mae Collins (14), Cynthia Wesley (14), Carole Robertson (14), and Carol Denise McNair (11), Shuttlesworth v. Birmingham Board of Education, Armstrong v. Birmingham Board of Education, Smith v. Young Men's Christian Association, University of Alabama desegregation crisis, Tuskegee High School desegregation crisis, 1963 Birmingham campaign's Children's Crusade, Mass racial violence in the United States, Racial segregation of churches in the United States, Timeline of terrorist attacks in the United States, "How Much Has Changed Since the Birmingham Church Bombing? It was part of a coordinated effort between local, state and federal governments to review cold cases of the civil rights era in the hopes of prosecuting perpetrators. Prayer, revival and Jesus Revolution: Is our rotting culture on verge of something big? And despite the personal tragedy. All the. We all did it! In attendance were major leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, including Martin Luther King Jr.[71] This legislation prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, gender, or national origin; to ensure full, equal rights of African Americans before the law. In 1968, the FBI formally closed their investigation into the bombing without filing charges against any of their named suspects. "[32], The prosecution called a total of seven witnesses to testify in their case against Blanton, including relatives of the victims, John Cross, the former pastor of the 16th Street Baptist Church; an FBI agent named William Fleming, and Mitchell Burns, a former Klansman who had become a paid FBI informant. Within 24 hours of the bombing, a minimum of five businesses and properties had been firebombed and numerous carsmost of which were driven by whiteshad been stoned by rioting youths. Marchers at a civil rights demonstration in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 22, 1963, hold posters reading "No More Birminghams," in response to the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. This week, a series of events leading up to the bombing's 50th anniversary on Sunday will commemorate the lives of the girls and the sweeping societal changes sparked by their deaths with the . Cook testified that Chambliss had acknowledged his guilt regarding his 1963 arrest for possession of dynamite, but that he (Chambliss) was insistent he had given the dynamite to Rowe before the bombing. At approximately 10:22a.m., an anonymous man phoned the 16th Street Baptist Church. [117][118], Blanton died in prison from unspecified causes on June 26, 2020.[119]. Barbara Ann Cross also testified for the prosecution. [48]:386 On September 29, he was indicted upon charges of illegally purchasing and transporting dynamite on September 4, 1963. Several dozen people were present at the unveiling, presided over by state Senator. Robert Chambliss, a member of a Ku Klux Klan group that was seen placing the dynamite under the church steps, was arrested in 1963, but tried only for illegal possession of explosives. Their deaths inside a church on a Sunday morning became a symbol worldwide of the depth of racial hatred in the segregated South. Investigative records show that Rowe had twice failed polygraph tests when questioned as to his possible involvement in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing and two separate, non-fatal explosions. [26], The explosion blew a hole measuring seven feet (2.1m) in diameter in the church's rear wall, and a crater five feet (1.5m) wide and two feet (0.61m) deep in the ladies' basement lounge, destroying the rear steps to the church and blowing a passing motorist out of his car. )[16], These demonstrations and the concessions from city leaders to the majority of demonstrators' demands were met with fierce resistance by other whites in Birmingham. Lehi, UT, USA: 2013. In May 2000, the FBI publicly announced their findings that the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing had been committed by four members of the KKK splinter group known as the Cahaba Boys. The bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church was a pivotal moment for the American civil rights movement. Copyright 2023 The Washington Times, LLC. The 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. "[112], Blanton was sentenced to life imprisonment. "[24] Another witness to testify was William Jackson, who testified as to his joining the KKK in 1963 and becoming acquainted with Chambliss shortly thereafter. Denise McNair, Cynthia Wesley, Addie Mae Collins and Carole Robertson, those were the names of the four little girls who were murdered on September 15th, 1963, when the Ku Klux Klan bombed the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. After decades of neglect, the cemetery records were found to be incomplete and the location of the body had been lost. [39], Violence escalated in Birmingham in the hours following the bombing, with reports of groups of Black and white youth throwing bricks and shouting insults at each other. In his closing argument, prosecuting attorney and future U.S. 0 On Sept. 15, 1963, four young girls were killed in a bombing at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. X. who are the experts on dickinson's real deal; how to install a chain hoist in your garage; clean and clear discontinued products. September 16, 1963 brought news of one of the most horrific acts of hate and violence ever perpetrated during the Civil Rights movement. Such a lack of evidence isnt unusual in powerful explosions, he said, because bomb components often are destroyed.However, defense attorney Mickey Johnson hammered at the lack of evidence. In 1977, a 73-year-old Chambliss was convicted of the murder of Collins and sentenced to life in prison. In the weeks following the September 4 integration of public schools, three additional bombs were detonated in Birmingham. [126] Cherry remained stoic as the sentence was read aloud. [133], I remembered the bombing of that Sunday School at 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham in 1963. In his opening statement for the prosecution, Don Cochran presented his case: that the evidence would show that Cherry had participated in a conspiracy to commit the bombing and conceal evidence linking him to the crime and that he had later gloated over the deaths of the victims. [115] Blanton was confined in a one-man cell under tight security. Moments later, services were held at a nearby grave for Addie Mae Collins, another victim of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. On April 10, 2001, Judge James Garrett indefinitely postponed Cherry's trial, pending further medical analysis. [126], Following the convictions of Blanton and Cherry, Alabama's former Attorney General, William Baxley, expressed his frustration that he had never been informed of the existence of the FBI audio recordings before they were introduced in the 2001 and 2002 trials. In spite of the darkness of this hour, we must not become bitter We must not lose faith in our white brothers. At this service, the Reverend C. E. Thomas told the congregation: "The greatest tribute you can pay to Carole is to be calm, be lovely, be kind, be innocent. [17], In response to the church bombing, described by the Mayor of Birmingham, Albert Boutwell, as "just sickening", the Attorney General dispatched 25 FBI agents, including explosives experts, to Birmingham to conduct a thorough forensic investigation. Be Crime Smart Advice; Common Fraud Schemes; E-scams & Warnings; Sex Offender Registry; Report Threats & Crime; . [106] The defense portrayed the audiotapes introduced into evidence as the statements of "two rednecks driving around, drinking" and making false, ego-inflating claims to one another. [38] Another sister of Addie Mae Collins, 16-year-old Junie Collins, would later recall that shortly before the explosion, she had been sitting in the basement of the church reading the Bible and had observed Addie Mae Collins tying the dress sash of Carol Denise McNair before she returned upstairs to the ground floor of the church. Two more violent deaths that day Later that day, 13-year-old Virgil Ware, riding on the. Blanton is the last surviving KKK member convicted of murder in the bombing of Birmingham's 16th Street Baptist Church. Hanes noted conflicting testimony among several of the 12 witnesses called by the defense to testify as to Chambliss's whereabouts on the day of the bombing. In 2013, the United States Congress awarded each girl the Congressional Gold Medal. On Sunday, Sept. 15, 1963, in Birmingham, Ala., at 10:22 a.m., a bomb exploded at the 16th Street Baptist Church. Baxley had been a student at the University of Alabama when he heard about the bombing in 1963, and later recollected: "I wanted to do something, but I didn't know what."[72]. [102] In January 2002, Judge Garrett ruled Cherry mentally competent to stand trial and set an initial trial date for April 29. The victims were Addie Mae Collins,14, Denise McNair,11,Carole Robertson,14, Cynthia Wesley, 14. . Many of the same audiotapes presented in Blanton's trial were also introduced into evidence in the trial of Bobby Cherry. [121] (A fishing float attached to a section of wire, which may have been part of a timing device, was found 20 feet (6.1m) from the explosion crater[87] following the bombing. Cochran also reminded the jury of a secretly obtained FBI recording, which had earlier been introduced into evidence, in which Cherry had told his first wife, Jean, that he and other Klansmen had constructed the bomb within the premises of business the Friday before the bombing. Five children were in the basement at the time of the explosion,[23] in a restroom close to the stairwell, changing into choir robes[24] in preparation for a sermon entitled "A Rock That Will Not Roll". (The plastic remnants were later lost by investigators. The Reverend Cross is interred at Hillandale Memorial Gardens in, Welsh craftsman and artist John Petts was inspired to construct and deliver the iconic stained-glass, The names of the four girls killed in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing are engraved upon the. (Upon cross-examination by defense attorney Art Hanes Jr., Cantrell conceded that Chambliss had emphatically denied bombing the church. The blast killed four young girls and injured twenty-two others. [111] When asked by the judge whether he had anything to say before sentence was imposed, Blanton said: "I guess the Lord will settle it on Judgment Day. The Birmingham Blitz was the heavy bombing by the Nazi German Luftwaffe of the city of Birmingham and surrounding towns in central England, beginning on 9 August 1940 as a fraction of the greater Blitz, which was part of the Battle of Britain; and ending on 23 April 1943.Situated in the Midlands, Birmingham, the most populous British city outside London, was considered an important industrial . I told the truth. He was 82 years old. Demonstrators present were given instructions to march to downtown Birmingham and discuss with the mayor their concerns about racial segregation in the city, and to integrate buildings and businesses currently segregated. Although Baxley knew he had insufficient evidence to charge Blanton at this stage, he intended the subpoena to frighten Blanton into confessing his involvement and negotiating a plea deal to turn state evidence against his co-conspirators. [68] Later the same year, J. Edgar Hoover formally blocked any impending federal prosecutions against the suspects,[69] and refused to disclose any evidence his agents had obtained with state or federal prosecutors.[70]. Most crucially, Blanton can also be heard saying that he was not with Miss Vaughn but, two nights before the bombing, was at a meeting with other Klansmen on a bridge above the Cahaba River. 16th Street Church Bombing Part 31 of 51 View. He had repeatedly proclaimed his innocence, insisting Gary Thomas Rowe Jr. was the actual perpetrator. She spoke with News4's Molette Green about . She was 93. The four individuals named in the FBI report were Blanton, Cash, Chambliss, and Cherry. did woody harrelson play in the walking dead; Dbouchage; polperro to looe bus timetable 2021; sandown airport pleasure flights. September 15, 1963 - A bomb blast at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, kills four African-American girls during church services. Collins was killed in the blast along with Denise McNair, 11, and Carole Robertson and Cynthia Wesley, both 14. Maxine McNair's 11-year-old daughter, Denise McNair, was the youngest of the four Black girls killed in the bombing of Birmingham's 16th Street Baptist Church in 1963. Sarah Collins-Rudolph, survivor of the 1963 Birmingham church bombing. Collins and her fellow victims became symbols of racial violence, styled as martyrs in the struggle for civil rights. Now the Jury Must Decide", "Bobby Frank Cherry, 74, Klansman in Bombing, Dies", "Gary T. Rowe Jr., 64, Who Informed on Klan In Civil Rights Killing, Is Dead", "Long Fight Predicted In Case Against Rowe", "Paid FBI Informer Tells Of Murder, Silence", "Memorial Dedicated For Church Bombing Victims On Anniversary", "Siblings of the bombing: Remembering Birmingham church blast 50 years on", "Girl Living in Darkness After Church Bombing", "Alabama church bombing victims honoured by Welsh window", "American civil rights: the Welsh connection", "Death spares scrutiny of Cash in bomb probe", "Pastor Was At Church When Bomb Killed Four", United States Government Publishing Office, "A History of American Protest: When Nina Simone Sang what Everyone was Thinking", "American Guernica, LKM Music - Hal Leonard Online", "Still Reeling From the Day Death Came to Birmingham", "Television Review: A Father's Guilt; A Son's Wrenching Decision", "That Which Might Have Been, Birmingham 1963 - Phoenix, Arizona - Smithsonian Art Inventory Sculptures on Waymarking.com", "Memorial project for 16th Street Baptist Church bombing raises $200,000 of $250,000 goal", "Four Spirits unveiled across from Sixteenth Street Baptist Church", "Four Spirits Statue, Memorial to 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing Victims, Unveiled", Details of Robert Chambliss's 1979 appeal against his conviction, John F. Kennedy's speech to the nation on Civil Rights, Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States, Chicago Freedom Movement/Chicago open housing movement, Green v. County School Board of New Kent County, Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights, Council for United Civil Rights Leadership, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), "Woke Up This Morning (With My Mind Stayed On Freedom)", List of lynching victims in the United States, Spring Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam, African American founding fathers of the United States, Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument, Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=16th_Street_Baptist_Church_bombing&oldid=1141643541, African-American history in Birmingham, Alabama, Attacks on religious buildings and structures in the United States, Massacres in religious buildings and structures, Racially motivated violence against African Americans, September 1963 events in the United States, Terrorist incidents in the United States in 1963, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2023, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. Reverend Cobbs stated that her uncle had repeatedly informed her he had been engaged in what he referred to as a "one-man battle" against Blacks since the 1940s. [41] The Birmingham City Council convened an emergency meeting to propose safety measures for the city, although proposals for a curfew were rejected. Prosecutors at Chambliss's 1977 trial had initially intended to call Rowe as a witness; however, DA William Baxley had chosen not to call Rowe as a witness after being informed of the results of these polygraph tests. In a later statement, the FBI stated that their investigation had been impeded by the lack of witness cooperation in Birmingham. Robinson, aged 16, was shot in the back by a policeman as he fled down an alley,[43] after ignoring police orders to halt. The Cahaba Boys had formed earlier in 1963, as they felt that the KKK was becoming restrained and impotent in response to concessions granted to Black people to end racial segregation. Four young girls, ranging in age from 11 to 14, were killed in the explosion, which also caused anywhere between 14 and 22 additional injuries. 16th Street Church Bombing Part 13 of 51 View. Bobby Frank Cherry was tried in Birmingham, Alabama, before Judge James Garrett, on May 6, 2002. In a speech conducted before the burials of the girls, King addressed an estimated 3,300[56] mournersincluding numerous white peoplewith a speech saying: This tragic day may cause the white side to come to terms with its conscience. [46] When he spotted Ware and his brother, Sims fired twice, reportedly with his eyes closed. [36] She had 21 pieces of glass embedded in her face and was blinded in one eye. But by September 20, the FBI was able to confirm that the explosion had been caused by a device that was purposely planted beneath the steps to the church,[59] close to the women's lounge. (Charles Nesbitt/Birmingham News/AP) Until she. [81] He testified that Chambliss had visited his headquarters in 1976 and that he had attempted to affix the blame for the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing upon an altogether different member of the KKK. Book Details. [11], The three-story 16th Street Baptist Church was a rallying point for civil rights activities through the spring of 1963. Scams and Safety. Maxine McNair was a teacher whose daughter, Denise McNair, was killed in the 1963 bombing of the 16 th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. In a 1987 interview focusing upon his recollections of the bombing, Petts recollected: "Naturally, as a father, I was horrified by the deaths of those children." [64], The FBI encountered difficulties in their initial investigation into the bombing. Brogdon testified on May 16 that Cherry had boasted to her that he had been the individual who planted the bomb beneath the steps to the church, then returned hours later to light the fuse to the dynamite. 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