On September 15th, 1963, a bomb planted by white supremacists ripped through Sixteenth Street Baptist Church killing four little girls – Addie Mae Collins (14), Cynthia Diane Wesley (14), Carole Robertson (14) & Carol Denise McNair (11) – & injuring several others. #ANationsStory

The tragedy marked the third bombing in eleven days in Birmingham, Alabama. In the 1960s, Birmingham was one of the most racially segregated cities in the country. #APeoplesJourney #ANationsStory

State and local politics were dominated by the Ku Klux Klan, the city police commissioner, Eugene “Bull” Connor, who promoted violence against black communities and the Governor George Wallace, who was a staunch segregationist. #APeoplesJourney #ANationsStory

These factors combined to heighten anti-black sentiment and create a particularly dangerous environment for African Americans. Racially motivated attacks on black homes and churches grew so common that the city was referred to as “Bombingham.”

More: http://s.si.edu/3iz7qHs