Shooting of Johnny Robinson facts for kids

Johnny Robinson (1947–1963) was a young African-American teenager. He was shot and killed by a police officer when he was 16 years old. This happened during the unrest after the terrible 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama.

Johnny and some friends were said to be throwing rocks at a car. This car had a Confederate flag on it. A Birmingham police officer named Jack Parker was in a police car. He shot Johnny, who then died. Officer Parker was never charged for the killing. He said he only fired a warning shot. He claimed a stray pellet must have killed Johnny.

Johnny's Early Life

Johnny Robinson was born in 1947. He grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, which was a difficult place at that time. Between 1945 and 1963, there were 50 bombings in the city because of racial tensions.

Johnny was the oldest of three children. He went to the Alberta Shields School. A few years before he died, Johnny's father was killed. This left his mother to raise her children alone in a city filled with racial violence.

What Happened That Day

On Sunday morning, September 15, 1963, a member of the Ku Klux Klan placed a bomb. It was put under the steps of the 16th Street Baptist Church. This church was important. It had been the main meeting place for the Birmingham Children's Crusade earlier that year.

Many people were expected at the church that day. The bomb exploded late in the morning. Three 14-year-old girls and an 11-year-old girl were killed. Twenty-two other people were hurt. This terrible event caused a lot of anger and unrest in the city.

Two other young Black males were also shot and killed that day. They were 16-year-old Johnny Robinson and 13-year-old Virgil Ware.

Virgil Ware was riding on his brother's bicycle. He was shot by a 16-year-old white teenager named Larry Joe Sims. Sims supported segregation, which meant keeping races separate. Sims and another teenager had been driving around the neighborhood. Virgil Ware died from his injuries. The teenagers responsible were later sentenced to a short time in jail and probation.

Johnny Robinson was about to have Sunday dinner with his sister. But he went with his friends to a gas station. This gas station was close to the 16th Street Baptist Church. Some white men drove by. They yelled mean racial slurs. They waved Confederate flags and threw bottles.

Johnny and his friends reportedly threw rocks back at the cars. Then, a police car arrived. Officer Jack Parker was in the back seat. He was pointing a shotgun out the window. Officer Parker later gave different stories about what happened. He said he fired a warning shot, and also that the gun went off by accident.

Officer Parker was white. At that time, all Birmingham Police officers were white. He had joined the police force in 1951. He was 48 years old when he shot Johnny Robinson. He was also the head of a police group called the Fraternal Order of Police.

What Happened After

After the funerals for the bombing victims, people were still very upset. Nelson Smith, a leader in the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights, said it would be hard to calm people down. They still felt in danger from bombings.

Two groups of citizens, called grand juries, looked into Officer Parker's case. They decided not to charge him. They said there were no clear witness accounts.

Not long after the shooting, Officer Parker signed a newspaper ad. This ad was against having Black and white police officers work together in Birmingham. He left the police force 10 years after Johnny Robinson was shot.