In Birmingham, we went to the Institute for Civil Rights. We watched videos and looked at artifacts. We read about a time in our not so distant history. We saw the site of the 16th street church bombing. On our way back our car, we met Jessie Strong.

He walked us around the block, telling us about what it was like to grow up in Birmingham during the sixties. He pointed out the "black district" where a once booming urban block now sits decaying. He pointed out the corner where his friends house use to be, where they use to gather on the porch before the protests.

He told us the history of the richest black man in Birmingham, and mapped out the buildings that man owned. He showed us the record store where he bought his first temptation album. He told us that times where hard.

We spent two hours at the museum, reading and trying to learn. But our two minutes with Jessie made it all real. It is not just history, it is real people, now.