The 16th Street Baptist Church bombing marked a turning point during the Civil Rights Era . On Sunday , September 15 , 1963 with a stack of dynamite hidden on an outside staircase , Ku Klux Klansmen destroyed one side of the Birmingham church . The bomb exploded in proximity to twenty-six children who were preparing for choir practice in the basement assembly room . The explosion killed four black girls , Carole Robertson ( 14 ) , Cynthia Wesley ( 14 ) , Denise McNair ( 11 ) and Addie Mae Collins ( 14 )
16th Street Baptist Church bombing
16th Street Baptist Church bombing
Racism in the United States