Birmingham 'Dynamite Hill': Black Neighborhood Bombings Throughout 1930s

The Smithfield neighborhood in Birmingham, Alabama — later dubbed 'Dynamite Hill' — experienced dozens of bombings of Black homes throughout the 1930s and 1940s as Black middle-class families attempted to move into formerly white-only neighborhoods adjacent to the Black district. The bombings were organized by the Klan and local real estate interests to enforce segregation. Birmingham police consistently failed to investigate. Between 1947 and 1965, Birmingham experienced over 50 bombings of Black homes and churches with near-zero prosecutions, establishing it as one of the most documented campaigns of terrorist real estate enforcement.