Sixty years after a bomb ripped through the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, killing four black girls dressed in their Sunday best, an Alabama lawmaker addressed the 117th US Congress about the legacy of that fateful day

“It was their memory that inspired generations of freedom fighters to build for a world where the color of your skin does not determine the value of your life,” said Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham.

“It was their memory that burned in the minds of foot soldiers as they fought to pass the Civil Right Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. And it was their sacrifice that brought our nation closer to realizing its highest ideals of equality and justice for all,’ Sewell said. “Without the influence of the four little girls I not only question where America would be but where I would be.”

Sewell used her time on the House Floor to deliver the remarks as the nation prepares for the 60th anniversary of the September 15, 1963, milestone. The blast killed 11-year-old Denise McNair, and 14-year-olds Addie Mae Collins, Carole Robertson and Cynthia Wesley while attending Sunday school.

Sewell also acknowledged the deaths of Virgil Ware and Johnny Robinson who were killed in racial violence the same day as the church bombing.

Ware was 13 years old when he was shot and killed by two white youths as he rode on the handlebars of his brother’s bicycle. He died moments later in his brother’s arms.

Robinson, 16, was shot by police during a protest that day.

Sewell also recognized the critical injuries of Sarah Collins Rudolph. She is the closest witness and a long-suffering victim of the blast. She was in the bathroom with the four girls and critically injured in the bombing that killed her sister, Addie Mae Collins, and the three other girls.

Rudolph, just 12 at the time, lost an eye in the blast and was hospitalized for weeks and continues to suffer the effects of her injuries. She missed her own sister’s funeral.

“Their premature and senseless deaths serve as a constant reminder that every battle, every gain in the fight for civil rights has come with a high cost, paid for by the sacrifice of others,” Sewell said.

Sewell in 2013 sponsored a bipartisan bill that awarded the Congressional Gold Medal posthumously to the four girls. The bill was also sponsored by then Spencer Bachus, R-Vestavia Hills.

Sewell’s comments come during a week where numerous memorials and observances are planned around Birmingham to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the bombing.

“It has never been more critical that the legacy of the four little girls lives on in American history, she said.