Sixteenth Street Baptist Church Bombing

The Ku Klux Klan bombed the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham on September 15, 1963, killing four young African American girls. This was a turning point in the civil rights movement leading up to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

People gather outside the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church amid debris scattered across the sidewalk and street.

Courtesy of the Birmingham Public Library Archives

Appears In

Birmingham Campaign of 1963

Birmingham Campaign of 1963

People gather outside the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church amid debris scattered across the sidewalk and street.