Cox moved to San Francisco in 1953 at age 17 . He became interested in political action by following the events of the Civil Rights Movement during the next several years . Cox was deeply disturbed by events such as the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing , in which 4 little black girls were killed and a further 22 people injured in an act of White Supremacist terrorism carried out by the Ku Klux Klan . He was also influenced by the writings of W.E.B. Du Bois and Herbert Aptheker , introduced to him by a white communist friend , Mark Hanson . He became affiliated with the Congress of Racial Equality , and in 1964 and 1965 he was involved in the series of protests directed against the Bank of America , San Francisco hotels , rental agencies and the automobile industry , who were discriminating against African-Americans
16th Street Baptist Church bombing
16th Street Baptist Church bombing
Donald L. Cox