John H. Cross Jr. (January 27, 1925 – November 15, 2007) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

pastor and

Civil Rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

activist. He was best known as the pastor of the

16th Street Baptist Church The 16th Street Baptist Church is a Baptist church in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. In 1963, the church was bombed by Ku Klux Klan members. The bombing killed four young girls in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement. The church is stil ...

, an

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

congregation in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

, at the time of church's racially motivated bombing in 1963. The bombing, which ripped through the church and killed four young girls, became a rallying cry for the

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...

and propelled the problems of

racial segregation Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crimes against hum ...

in The South into the national spotlight. Cross spent much of the rest of his life working for racial reconciliation in the South.

Early life

John Cross Jr. was born on January 27, 1925, in

Haynes, Arkansas Haynes is a town in Lee County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 150 at the 2010 census, down from 214 at the 2000 census. Geography Haynes is located in northern Lee County at (34.889993, -90.793472). Arkansas Highway 1 passes thro ...

. His parents were Margie Ann and John H. Cross Sr. He became interested in the

ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

very early in life when he gave his first trial

sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. El ...

as a teenager. Cross joined the U.S. Army in 1944 as an assistant regimental

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

soon after graduating from high school. Cross left the army following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Cross enrolled at Virginia Union University, a historically African American university in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, where he received his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in 1950. He later also received a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

divinity Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine

from Virginia Union University in 1959. Cross met his wife, Julia Ball, who was also a student at Virginia Union University. The couple married on September 3, 1949. Julia Cross died in 2003.

16th Street Baptist Church

John Cross Jr was named the new pastor of the

in 1962. He was serving as a pastor of a Baptist church in Richmond, Virginia at the time. Cross was asked to serve at the church because he seemed to be a good match for its

congregation A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: *Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administra ...

, who largely consisted of conservative, well educated

African Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

. Cross had no real previous experience as either a civil rights activist or in the civil rights movement before arriving in Birmingham. Cross's new city,

, was one of the most volatile flashpoints in the South at the time. The city had earned the nickname of "

Bombingham Bombingham is a nickname for Birmingham, Alabama, during the Civil Rights Movement due to the 50 dynamite explosions that occurred in the city between 1947 and 1965.Eskew, p. 53 The bombings were initially used against African Americans atte ...

" by 1962 due to the large number of racially charged bombings during the 1950s and early 1960s. It was considered a stronghold of the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

, who often perpetuated random violence against the city's black population. Birmingham's notorious public safety commissioner, Eugene "Bull" Connor, was well known for turning high-powered fire hoses and attack dogs on protesters.

References

External links

National Park Service: 16th Street Baptist Church bombing history
* ttp://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-cross19nov19,1,4247569.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-california Los Angeles Times: The Rev. John H. Cross Jr., 82; pastor of church bombed in 1963 {{DEFAULTSORT:Cross, John Jr. 1925 births 2007 deaths People from Lee County, Arkansas Military personnel from Arkansas Activists for African-American civil rights United States Army personnel of World War II World War II chaplains United States Army chaplains 20th-century Baptist ministers from the United States