The 16th Street Baptist Church bombing was a turning point of the US civil rights movement of the 1960s.

The 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama was a rallying point for many of civil rights activities. On Sunday, September 15, 1963, Ku Klux Klan member Robert Edward Chambliss (aka Dynamite Bob) planted 19 sticks of dynamite in the basement of the Church. At about 10:25 AM, they exploded. Four young girls - Addie May Collins, Carole Robertson, Cynthia Wesley and Denise McNair - were killed in the blast, while 22 more were injured.

It took 13 years, but in 1977 Chambliss was convicted for the murders and sentenced to several terms of life imprisonment. He died in prison in 1985.

After reopening the case several times, in 2000 the FBI brought chargest against Bobby Frank Cherry and Thomas Blanton. Cherry was declared unfit for trial, while Blanton was convicted.