An Iriot original.

I was born with a special gift.

The ability to mentally transform any situation into the worst-case scenario.

In my own brain.

My therapist calls my gift catastrophizing.

And that's why I'm uniquely qualified to scrutinize and analyze history's greatest disasters.

And find out who's to play.

They say history repeats itself.

Not on my watch.

My name is Rebecca Delgado-Smith, and I am the alarmist.

Hey everyone, thanks for tuning into the alarmist.

A comedy podcast where we talk about history's greatest tragedies and figure out who's to play.

Today we're discussing the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing.

Here's what you need to know.

Nearly 100 years after the abolition of slavery, the civil rights movement emerged in the 1950s

due to the widespread segregation, discrimination, and racially motivated violence in the United States.

Activism and non-violent protests surged throughout the country.

But particularly in the South, where Jim Crow laws barred black Americans from public spaces.

In 1963, Birmingham, Alabama was the most segregated city in America.

And became the center of a desegregation campaign led by civil rights leaders, including Martin Luther King, Jr.

The 16th Street Baptist Church had served as a social center, lecture hall, and gathering place

for the city's African-American community for over 50 years, and soon became headquarters

...