Virgil Lamar Ware
Virgil Lamar Ware (December 6, 1949 – September 15, 1963) was an African American eight grader gunned down after the Birmingham church bombing.[1][2]
Virgil Lamar Ware | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 6, 1949 Birmingham, Alabama |
| Died | September 15, 1963 (aged 13) Birmingham, Alabama |
| Occupation | Student |
Personal life
Growing up in Pratt City, Alabama, Ware was the third of six brothers. He was an eighth grade A student, on the football team, and had aspirations to become a lawyer. He had a job as a paper boy with his brother James when the shooting occurred.[2][3][4]
Death and afterward
The murderers Larry Joe Sims and Michael Lee Farley, age 16, were returning from a white supremacy rally. Upon seeing Virgil and his brother James, who were unaware of the bombing, Farley told Sims to shoot at them to scare them. It ended in Virgil being shot in the cheek and chest.[1][2][3]
An all white jury convicted them of second-degree manslaughter, sentenced to seven months of jail, and had their cases suspended by the judge and changed to two years’ probation.[1][2]
Ware was buried in an unmarked grave on the side of the road until May 6, 2004 where he was moved to a burial place with a bronze marker thanks to the donations of the community.[1][2]
As of 2013 he has been inducted into Birmingham’s Gallery of Distinguished Citizens.[2]
His family has become greatly involved in the civil rights movement as a result of his death.[3]
Further reading
References
- "Travesty of Justice: The Murder of Virgil Lamar Ware (1963)". I Love Ancestry. 2017-07-30. Retrieved 2019-10-26.
- "Virgil Lamar Ware, a 13-Year-Old Unsung Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement". Black Then. 2018-07-11. Retrieved 2019-10-26.
- "Virgil Lamar Ware: Person, pictures and information - Fold3.com". Fold3. Retrieved 2019-10-26.
- Padgett, Tim; Sikora, Frank (2003-09-22). "The Legacy of Virgil Ware". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 2019-10-26.