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One of the civil rights movement’s most iconic pieces of art is under threat. Not only is this stained glass window in Birmingham, Alabama, one of the first depictions of a black Christ in the deep South - it was created for the church by a Welsh artist, John Petts, with donations from children across Wales.

Now the church fears that Alabama’s stormy weather may destroy the window. The 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, is at the epicentre of the American civil rights movement. The city was the centre of several demonstrations and marches and the church was bombed by members of the KKK in 1963, killing four girls and destroying much of the church.

Stained glass artist John Petts from Wales was so moved by the tragedy that he wanted to help replace the window at the front of the church. After a nationwide appeal for funds, Petts was sent to the US to make the window. Now, over 50 years after ‘the Welsh window’ was installed, the church is appealing to the public to raise funds to preserve the window.

Producer: Sophia Smith Galer

(Photo: Stained glass window depicting a Black Christ)

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