Reuters has a nice straightforward account of how the city is commemorating the 50th anniversary of the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church, which killed four children and injured more.

Over at Lawyers Guns and Money there’s a guest post by Robert Widell, who has just written a book titled “Birmingham and the Long Black Freedom Struggle.” He tells a little more about what happened in the city between the bombing and today’s celebrations. It hasn’t been a straight line of unbroken victories by civil rights activists by any means. It’s well worth a read.