EPISODE 6: THE TRAGEDY ## CHAPTER 1: SIXTEEN DAYS Sixteen days after the March on Washington, the dream became a nightmare. September 15, 1963. Sunday morning in Birmingham. The 16th Street Baptist Church—the staging ground for the children's crusade that spring—was preparing for Youth Day services. The building was full of children, parents, teachers. At 10:22 a.m., a bomb exploded beneath the east side of the church. The blast killed four girls: Addie Mae Collins, fourteen. Cynthia Wesley, fourteen. Carole Robertson, fourteen. Carol Denise McNair, eleven. Twenty-two others were injured. The church was devastated—stained glass windows shattered, walls collapsed, rubble where the basement had been. Martin received the news by telephone. He had to sit down. "Four little girls," he said, his voice breaking. "Four innocent children." He flew to Birmingham immediately. --- ## CHAPTER 2: THE FUNERAL The funeral drew thousands. Martin stood in the pulpit of the 6th Avenue Baptist Church, looking out at the grieving congregation—parents who had lost daughters, children who had lost friends, a community that had lost its innocence. "These children—unoffending, innocent, and beautiful—were the victims of one of the most vicious and tragic crimes ever perpetrated against humanity." His voice was thick with grief and anger. "They have something to say to every minister of the gospel who has remained silent behind...