The poem "Birmingham Sunday" by Langston Hughes is about the racially-motivated bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama on September 15, 1963, which killed four young African-American girls. Throughout the poem, the choir sings about the love and faith of their community, despite the violence and hatred they face.
The choir sings about "holding on to the word of God" and "singing in a world of tears," as a way to express their resilience and hope in the face of oppression. The poem also mentions the girls who were killed in the bombing, and their innocence and beauty.
The killers, on the other hand, view their victims as objects to be destroyed, rather than human beings with value and worth. They are described as "shadows," and their voices are silenced by the violence of the bombing. The poem highlights the tragic loss of life and the senseless violence that is fueled by hatred and bigotry.