On Sunday, September 15, 1963, members of the Ku Klux Klan placed 19 sticks of dynamite under the steps of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. The bomb exploded at 10:22 a.m., injuring many and killing four young girls as they were preparing for the 11:00 a.m. church service. Mayhem broke out across the city as the call for justice was not answered. Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. came to support the grief stricken community and spoke at the funeral for three of the girls.

Marlena has stated, "King felt the deep burden at the tragic, constant, senseless loss of life that came from those who opposed the civil rights movement. So, I depicted him looking to God for answers."

The sermon for the day of the bombing was was titled The Love that Forgives.