Final answer:
In "Ballad of Birmingham," a mother sends her child to church believing it to be a safe refuge from the racial violence, unaware of the impending tragedy at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the poem "Ballad of Birmingham," the mother's decision to send her child to church was influenced by her concern for her child's safety amidst the racial violence and unrest that characterized Birmingham during the civil rights movement. The church was seen as a safe haven, a place free from the threats of the protests and the violence that came with them. This decision tragically turns to sorrow as the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church becomes the target of a bombing, reflecting the cruel irony that not even a place of worship was safe in the racially divided South of the 1960s.