This church was founded in 1873 as Birmingham's first colored Baptist church. The current building was completed in 1911.
During the civil rights movement of the 1960s, it served as the organizational headquarters and meeting place for African Americans protesting racial discrimination.
On September 15, 1963, KKK members planted bombs in the church, killing four girls and injuring 22 others. The incident shocked the nation and led to the passage of the Civil Rights Act a year later.
In 2013, a “Four Spirits” statue was erected in memory of the four girls in a park diagonally across from the church.
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The year 1963"
(2025-02-02)
