Phylicia Rashad takes on directing 'Four Little Girls'

Phylicia Rashad is moving into the director's chair years after starring as Clair Huxtable in "The Cosby Show."

Rashad directed a reading of the play “Four Little Girls: Birmingham 1963″ at the Kennedy Center on Sunday.

The reading marked the 50th anniversary of the bombing at 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., that killed four girls and led to riots that left two boys shot to death. Fourteen were injured in the explosion.

The bombing was part of a series of events that led to the civil rights movement.

This rendition of "Four Little Girls" was not Rashad's first time to direct. In 2007, Rashad made her directorial debut for "Gem of the Ocean" in 2007, and also directed a version of "A Raisin In The Sun" last year.

The play was written by Christina Ham and featured students from Howard University -- Rashad's alma mater -- and the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C.