Much of the events depicted are grimly realistic.
- The abrupt explosion at the Birmingham church, killing four girls.
- We are then treated to a lovely shot of the girls' dead bodies; the worst of it was that at least one of the girls was decapitated in the bombing and had to be identified by her identity bracelet.
- Bloody Sunday
, when protest marches were attacked by state troopers. - Cager Lee, an 82-year-old man, getting beaten twice. Not to mention he witnesses the shooting death of his grandson, Jimmie Lee Jackson.
- Mentioned in the epilogue though not depicted in the film, Viola Liuzzo was murdered by the KKK shortly after being present for MLK's final speech in the film.
- The murder of white Unitarian pastor James Reeb is brutal.
- The description of the first attempt to cross the bridge by a reporter (intercut with footage of the same) sounds a bit like an Apocalyptic Log. The man is clearly shaken by what he just witnessed.
