Sarah Collins Rudolph was the fifth girl and survived. 0:00. Baxley obtained FBI files containing substantive information, including the names of suspects, which had been withheld by J. Edgar Hoover in the 1960s. (The physical description by witnesses of this person varied, and could have matched either Bobby Cherry or Robert Chambliss. A separate service was held for the fourth victim, Carole Robertson. [1][2][3] Four members of a local Ku Klux Klan chapter planted 19 sticks of dynamite attached to a timing device beneath the steps located on the east side of the church.[4]. On the morning of Sunday, September 15, 1963, 14-year-old Collins was in the church basement room with a group of other children. Cherry's defense attorney, Mickey Johnson, protested his client's innocence, citing that much of the evidence presented was circumstantial. 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. [94][95], In 1995, ten years after Chambliss died, the FBI reopened their investigation into the church 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". On Sunday, Sept. 15, 1963, in Birmingham, Ala., at 10:22 a.m., a bomb exploded at the 16th Street Baptist Church. At 10:22 a.m., a bomb exploded under the steps of the church. [11] The intentional scope of these activities was to see the end of segregation across Birmingham and the South as a whole. She spoke with News4's Molette Green about . Vaccines dont work, masks dont work: Everything government told us about COVID-19 was wrong. here for reprint permission. Addie Mae. [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. Governor Wallace offered an additional $5,000 on behalf of the state of Alabama. [132] These polygraph results had convinced some FBI agents of Rowe's culpability in the bombing. It was meant to suck the hope out of young lives, bury their aspirations, and ensure that old fears would be propelled forward into the next generation.[146]. Also present was Martin Luther King Jr. [93] In the years since his incarceration, Chambliss had been confined to a solitary cell to protect him from attacks by fellow inmates. Baxley also gathered evidence proving Chambliss had purchased dynamite from a store in Jefferson County less than two weeks before the bomb was planted,[74] upon the pretext the dynamite was to be used to clear land the KKK had purchased near Highway 101. "[17][51], Carole Rosamond Robertson was laid to rest in a private family funeral held on September 17, 1963. 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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks at the "56th Memorial Observance of the Birmingham Church Bombing" at the 16th St Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama . 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. At least 14 others are injured in. BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (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. [100] It concluded that vascular dementia had impaired his mind, therefore making Cherry mentally incompetent to stand trial or assist in his own defense.[101]. More than 1,000 people were present at the unveiling of the memorial, including survivors of the bombing, friends of the victims and the parents of Denise McNair, Johnny Robinson and Virgil Ware. The Birmingham church bombing occurred on September 15, 1963, when a bomb exploded before Sunday morning services at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabamaa church with a. Sarah Collins-Rudolph, survivor of the 1963 Birmingham church bombing. [85] He expressed regret that the state was unable to request the death penalty in this case, as the death penalty in effect in the state in 1963 had been repealed. He said that Cherry had signed an affidavit in the presence of the FBI on October 9, 1963, confirming that he, Chambliss, and Blanton were at these premises on this date.[125]. Ancestry.com. birmingham church bombing victims autopsy. Officially, the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing remained unsolved until after William Baxley was elected Attorney General of Alabama in January 1971. On September 18, the funeral of the three other girls killed in the bombing was held at the Sixth Avenue Baptist Church. 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. [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. Her body was not in the spot where it was presumed to be. 4 girls were killed, and 14 were injured. The girls, all black members of Birmingham's 16 th Street Baptist Church, were killed in 1963 when a white supremacist planted a bomb in the church on a Sunday morning. [61] These witness statements specifically indicated that a white man had exited the car and walked toward the steps of the church. A policeman and a neighbor had each testified that Chambliss was at the home of a man named Clarence Dill on that day. [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. [1] [2] [3] Four members of a local Ku Klux Klan chapter planted 19 sticks of dynamite attached to a timing device beneath the steps located on the east side of the church. 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. Training And Servicing Center. . He referred to testimony given by her father, Chris McNair, about the family's loss, and requested that the jury return a verdict of guilty.[86]. [113][114] He was incarcerated at the St. Clair Correctional Facility in Springville, Alabama. United States Attorney General Eric Holder was stricken with emotion Sunday in Birmingham, Ala., as he reflected on the murder of four young girls . A local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan placed bombs at the 16th Street Baptist Church and set them off as Sunday services prepared to commence on the morning of September 15, 1963. The crime was calculated, not random. 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. dartmouth football coach salary. The blast, erupting from the church's east side, sprayed mortar and bricks, caving in the building's walls. 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. When Black Marxist Angela Davis found out her ancestors owned slaves. "[109], Defense attorney John Robbins reminded the jury in his closing argument that his client was an admitted segregationist and a "loudmouth", but that was all that could be proven. All but one of the church's stained-glass windows were destroyed in the explosion. Four . [132] Nonetheless, a 1979 investigation cleared Rowe of any involvement in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. [103], The most crucial piece of evidence presented at Blanton's trial was an audio recording secretly taped by the FBI in June 1964, in which Blanton was recorded discussing his involvement in the bombing with his wife, who can be heard accusing her husband of conducting an affair with a woman named Waylen Vaughn two nights before the bombing. [49], The city of Birmingham initially offered a $52,000 reward for the arrest of the bombers. Infamous Birmingham church bombing remembered. [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. Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. birmingham church bombing victims autopsyirina emelyanova pasternak 26th February 2023 / in coastal carolina football camp 2022 / by / in coastal carolina football camp 2022 / by However, none of these explosions had resulted in fatalities. The church's pastor, the Reverend John Cross Jr., attempted to placate the crowd by loudly reciting the 23rd Psalm through a bullhorn. [97], On May 16, 2000, a grand jury in Alabama indicted Thomas Edwin Blanton and Bobby Frank Cherry on eight counts each in relation to the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. Click He also noted that Cherry had initially been linked to the bombing by the FBI via an informant who had claimed, fifteen months after the bombing, that she had seen Cherry place the bomb at the church shortly before the bombing. [30] Another victim was killed by a piece of mortar embedded in her skull. The tragic 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, helped set America on a course toward passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964. [8] It was the location where students were organized and trained by the SCLC Director of Direct Action, James Bevel, to participate in the 1963 Birmingham campaign's Children's Crusade after other marches had taken place. Bombings at Black homes[13] and institutions were a regular occurrence, with at least 21 separate explosions recorded at Black properties and churches in the eight years before 1963. This page was last edited on 26 February 2023, at 02:25. These instructions were relayed to the crowd present by a single youth with a bullhorn. At the base of the sculpture is an inscription of the title of the sermon the four girls were to attend before the bombing"A Love That Forgives". Book Details. [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. Twenty-one people died when two bombs were detonated in Birmingham in 1974 On 21 November 1974, two bombs ripped through the Mulberry Bush and Tavern in the Town pubs in Birmingham, killing 21. Also, at that time, information from our surveillance was not admissible in court. He and two acquaintances, John Hall and Charles Cagle, were each convicted in state court upon a charge of illegally possessing and transporting dynamite on October 8. Terms of Use / Privacy Policy / Manage Newsletters, The Front Page Podcast: Pumping the Brakes, NEW: Its not polite to pretend boys can be girls, SCOTUS takes on Bidens student debt agenda, Click LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- One of the deadliest attacks of the civil rights movement was remembered today in Louisville. Four black girls. 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. UK, World War II Civilian Deaths, 1939-1945 [database on-line]. Your irresponsible and misguided actions have created in Birmingham and Alabama the atmosphere that has induced continued violence and now murder. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. The 16 th Street Baptist Church is an iconic landmark with its blue neon sign, dramatic stained-glass windows, and imposing twin bell towers. Collins was killed in the blast along with Denise McNair, 11, and Carole Robertson and Cynthia Wesley, both 14. [88] He was sentenced to life imprisonment for her murder. [57], Initially, investigators theorized that a bomb thrown from a passing car had caused the explosion at the 16th Street Baptist church. The 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. London, United Kingdom: Peter . [11], The three-story 16th Street Baptist Church was a rallying point for civil rights activities through the spring of 1963. On November 14, 1977, Robert Chambliss, then aged 73, stood trial in Birmingham's Jefferson County Courthouse. The last surviving parent of the four murdered girls will be buried tomorrow. [4] Blanton was convicted last year and sentenced to life in prison.Klansman Robert Chambliss was convicted of murder in the bombing in 1977 and died in prison. Prayer, revival and Jesus Revolution: Is our rotting culture on verge of something big? [115] Blanton was confined in a one-man cell under tight security. 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. Blanton's attorneys criticized the validity and quality of the 16 tape recordings introduced as evidence,[105] arguing that the prosecution had edited and spliced the sections of the audio recording that were secretly obtained within Blanton's kitchen, reducing the entirety of the tape by 26 minutes. September 15, 1963 - A bomb blast at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, kills four African-American girls during church services. After Baxley requested access to the original FBI files on the case, he learned that evidence accumulated by the FBI against the named suspects between 1963 and 1965 had not been revealed to the local prosecutors in Birmingham. On September 15,1963, a bomb went off at Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. On September 15, 1963, the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama was bombed. A fourth suspect, Herman Frank Cash, died in 1994, before he could be charged. Their deaths made all of us focus upon the ugliness of those who would punish people because of the color of their skin. Victim Assistance; More Resources. 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. I don't know why I'm going to jail for nothing. Jackson testified that Chambliss had expressed frustration that the Klan was "dragging its feet" on the issue of racial integration,[18] and said he was eager to form a splinter group more dedicated to resistance. [50]:272, The service for Carole Rosamond Robertson was held at St. John's African Methodist Episcopal Church. No one ever really has known and no one will until this city becomes part of the United States. 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? 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. Martin said: "The cold-blooded callousness of this hate crime has not diminished by the passage of time." He is held in a one-person cell at a maximum-security prison and rarely . Following these closing arguments, the jury retired to consider their verdicts. ", "Beauty from the Ashes of 16th Street Baptist Church", "Church Bomb Kills 4 Girls in Ala.; 2 Die in Fighting", "The Speech That Shocked Birmingham the Day After the Church Bombing", "Ceremony recalls victim of civil rights violence", "First of 4 Birmingham Bomb Victims is Buried", "We Shall Overcome Historic Places of the Civil Rights Movement", "Funeral Speakers Say Deaths Of Three Children Not In Vain", "Martin Luther King's 'Eulogy for the Martyred Children', "The ghosts of Alabama: After 37 years, two men are indicted for a bombing that transfigured the civil rights movement", "Birmingham Klansman Guilty in Dynamite Case; Two Other Defendants Face Trial Today--Dr. King Gives City an Ultimatum on Jobs", "FBI: A Byte Out of History: The '63 Baptist Church Bombing", "Murderer Of 4 Birmingham Girls Found Guilty (38 yrs later)", "Former Klansman convicted in deadly 1963 bombing of Birmingham, Alabama church", "Cherry convicted: Jury verdict in bombing hailed as 'justice finally', "Birmingham Church Bombing Conviction Ended an Obsession of the Prosecutor", "Bill Baxley Reflects on 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing", "Former Prosecutor Says FBI Delayed Alabama Conviction", "Former Klansman Convicted In Bombing Death", "Another Redemption: Baxley in Birmingham", "Puzzle Pieces Put Together in Bombing Case", "Alabamian Guilty in '63 Blast that Killed Four Girls", "Robert E. Chambliss, Figure in '63 Bombing", "Former Klansman convicted of deadly Alabama church bombing 40 years on", "Klansman convicted of killing black girls", "As Church Bombing Trial Begins in Birmingham, the City's Past Is Very Much Present", "Former Klansman who was Key Witness at Bombing Trial Dies", "Church Bombing Verdict Hinges on how Jurors Understand Tapes", "Jury Hears More Old Tapes in Church Bombing Trial", "Birmingham church bomber guilty, gets four life terms", "Testimony Concludes in Trial On Birmingham Church Blast", "Former Klansman Convicted in 1963 Church Bombing", "Former Klansman faces prison in 1963 Killings", "1 Klansman survives Ala church bombing cases", "Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bomber up for parole next month", "16th Street Baptist Church bomber Thomas Blanton denied parole", "Thomas Blanton, Who Bombed a Birmingham Church, Dies at 82", "Witnesses Say Ex-Klansman Boasted of Church Bombing", "Design of Bomb Still Uncertain 38 Years Later", "Explosives Expert Testifies In Church Bombing Trial", "Prosecutor Says Justice 'Overdue' in '63 Bombing", "More Than Just a Racist? The victims were Addie Mae Collins,14, Denise McNair,11,Carole Robertson,14, Cynthia Wesley, 14. "[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. 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. Cherry, who now lives in Mabank, Texas, and another ex-Klansman, Thomas Blanton Jr., were indicted on murder charges two years ago. Within days of the bombing, investigators began to focus their attention upon a KKK splinter group known as the "Cahaba Boys". Although the FBI had concluded in 1965 that the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing had been committed by four known Klansmen and segregationists: Thomas Edwin Blanton Jr., Herman Frank Cash, Robert Edward Chambliss, and Bobby Frank Cherry,[6] no prosecutions were conducted until 1977, when Robert Chambliss was tried by Alabama Attorney General Bill Baxley and convicted of the first-degree murder of one of the victims, 11-year-old Carol Denise McNair. [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. Denise was 11 years old; Cynthia, Addie Mae, and Carole were 14. In 1998, the Collins family requested that Addie Mae's body be exhumed and moved to another cemetery. These demonstrations led to an agreement, on May 8, between the city's business leaders and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, to integrate public facilities, including schools, in the city within 90 days. [117][118], Blanton died in prison from unspecified causes on June 26, 2020.[119]. One of the defense witnesses was a retired chef named Eddie Mauldin, who was called to testify to discredit prosecution witnesses' statements that they had seen Blanton in the vicinity of the church before the bombing. Addie Mae Collins was a 14-year-old murder victim whose 1963 death focused public attention on racial violence in the South. Although sections of the recordingpresented in evidence on April 27are unintelligible, Blanton can twice be heard mentioning the phrase "plan a bomb" or "plan the bomb". They forever changed the face of this state and the history of this state. Before his trial, Chambliss remained free upon a $200,000 bond raised by family and supporters and posted October 18. [57][58], As the girls' coffins were taken to their graves, King directed that those present remain solemn and forbade any singing, shouting or demonstrations. "[9] Birmingham's Commissioner of Public Safety, Theophilus Eugene "Bull" Connor,[10] led the effort in enforcing racial segregation in the city through the use of violent tactics. She is the daughter of the Reverend John Cross and was aged 13 in 1963. 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. The act of whyte supremacy terrorism . T hursday marked the 59th anniversary of white supremacists' deadly bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Two other perpetratorsThomas Blanton Jr. and Bobby Frank Cherrywere convicted in 2001 and 2002, respectively. . In 1977, a 73-year-old Chambliss was convicted of the murder of Collins and sentenced to life in prison. Three days later, the Rev. [104] He said: "You've got to have a meeting to plan a bomb. That bomb took the lives of four young girls, including my friend and playmate [Carol] Denise McNair. [133], I remembered the bombing of that Sunday School at 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham in 1963. [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. 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. Baxley noted that the day of the closing argument fell upon what would have been Carol Denise McNair's 26th birthday and that she would have likely been a mother by this date. Be Crime Smart Advice; Common Fraud Schemes; E-scams & Warnings; Sex Offender Registry; Report Threats & Crime; . On Sept. 15, 1963, the blast claimed the lives of 11-year-old Denise McNair, 14-year-old Carole Robertson . On November 18, 1977,[87] they found Robert Chambliss guilty of the murder of Carol Denise McNair. Scams and Safety. In 2013, the United States Congress awarded each girl the Congressional Gold Medal. [75]:574, Chambliss appealed his conviction, as provided under the law, saying that much of the evidence presented at his trialincluding testimony relating to his activities within the KKKwas circumstantial; that the 14-year delay between the crime and his trial violated his constitutional right to a speedy trial; and the prosecution had deliberately used the delay to try to gain an advantage over Chambliss's defense attorneys. 16th Street Church Bombing Part 32 of 51 pages(1-249) View. Although Cash is known to have passed a polygraph test in which he was questioned as to his potential involvement in the bombing, The Reverend John Cross, who had been the pastor of the 16th Street Baptist Church at the time of the 1963 bombing, died of natural causes on November 15, 2007. For eight months the Luftwaffe dropped bombs on London and other strategic cities across Britain. 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 16th Street Baptist Church bombing was a white supremacist terrorist bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, on Sunday, September 15, 1963. "[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. Throughout the trial, Cherry's defense attorney, Mickey Johnson, repeatedly observed that many of the prosecution's witnesses were either circumstantial or "inherently unreliable". In spite of the darkness of this hour, we must not become bitter We must not lose faith in our white brothers. The two say they will turn down a proposed Congressional Gold Medal honoring the victims. 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]. McNair's . The racial attack on the 16th Street Baptist Church, in the former secretary of state's hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, rocked the nation and led to sweeping changes . Best Known For: Addie Mae Collins was a 14-year-old murder victim whose 1963 death focused public attention on racial violence in the South. Brogdon also testified that Cherry had told her of his regret that children had died in the bombing, before adding his satisfaction that they would never reproduce. [75]:497 This testimony of witnesses and evidence was used to formally construct a case against Robert Chambliss. On Sunday September 15th 1963 the Ku Klux Klan bombed the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, killing four girls: Addie Mae Collins, age 14 (1949-1963) Cynthia Wesley, age 14 (1949-1963) The sole stained-glass window largely undamaged in the explosion depicted Christ leading a group of young children. [96] They unsealed 9,000 pieces of evidence previously gathered by the FBI in the 1960s (many of these documents relating to the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing had not been made available to DA William Baxley in the 1970s). 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. [7] Herman Cash had died in 1994, and was never charged with his alleged involvement in the bombing. Although this donation was accepted,[50]:274 Martin Luther King Jr. is known to have sent Wallace a telegram saying, "the blood of four little children is on your hands. Petts then elaborated that the inspiration for the stained-glass image was a verse from the, On the 27th anniversary of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, a state historic marker was unveiled at Greenwood Cemetery, the final resting place of three of the four victims of the bombing (Carole Robertson's body had been reburied in Greenwood Cemetery in 1974, following the death of her father). It's never too late for a man to be held accountable for his crimes." The bombing occurred on Sept. 15, 1963, a Sunday, at the 16th Street Baptist Church, which had been a center of civil rights activity in Birmingham. Following the bombing, the 16th Street Baptist Church remained closed for over eight months, as assessments and, later, repairs were conducted upon the property. 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. The 16th Street Church, frequently used as a meeting place for leaders including .css-47aoac{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:inherit;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#A00000;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-47aoac:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}Martin Luther King Jr. and Ralph D. Abernathy, was an obvious target for this activity. Know why I 'm going to jail for nothing held in a one-person at. One-Person cell at a maximum-security prison and rarely Baptist Church in Birmingham Alabama... 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