when a bomb blew up the 16th street baptist church in birmingham and murdered four little girls. they stopped when john and many others seeking justice were beaten and bloodied while crossing the bridge at selma named after the grand dragon of the ku klux klan. they stopped. time stopped. they forced the country to confront the hard truths and to act. to act to keep the promise of america alive. the promise that holds that we're all created equal, but more importantly deserve to be treated equally. and from those moments of darkness and despair came light and hope. democrats, republicans and independents worked to pass the historic civil rights act and the voting rights legislation.