4 Little Girls

The dynamiting in September 1963 of a Baptist church in Birmingham, Alabama was a specially horrible addition to the litany of racist horrors of the time, since it took place during Sunday school and the victims were children. The big part of Lee's film commemorates the lives of the '4 little girls' who died, through the memories of parents, siblings and friends. A number of public figures, including a gaga George Wallace, recall the wider civil rights struggle. A final section describes the conviction, years later, of one of the killers, a merry-looking mannikin, clearly out of his mind. Lee's tough decision to include photos of the victims' smashed-up bodies was probably correct, but adding 'soulful' music to some of the interviews was more questionable.