September 16, 1963. When Nina Simone heard that four Black girls had been killed in the bombing of the 16th Avenue Church in Birmingham, Alabama, her first impulse was to try and build a zip gun; instead she channeled her rage into “Mississippi Goddamn,” the song that marked the emergence of Nina Simone, the Civil Rights activist. Infused with traditional hymns along with songs including “Four Women,” “I Loves You, Porgy,” and “Young, Gifted and Black,” Nina Simone: Four Women looks at an artist and the women around her as their journey leads them down a path of discovery and healing.
