Six weeks of non-violent demonstrations against racial segregation in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963 — which include the jailing of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. and dozens of other protesters, police turning fire hoses and police dogs against and arresting participating Black children, and the paralysis of downtown business — come to an end on May 10, when the City agrees to partially desegregate.

The next day, the KKK rallies 12 miles southwest of town. In the evening, the Black-owned motel where Black organizers had previously stayed, and the parsonage of MLK’s brother are both bombed. Many Black residents, frustrated with the strategy of nonviolence, riot. An entire city block is burning when state troopers arrive. The Army is deployed to stop the riot.

14 months later, the Civil Rights Act is signed into law.