Commissioner of Public Safety for the city of Birmingham, Alabama and über-racist, Eugene "Bull" Connor, liked to spend his mornings at the Molton Hotel, drinking shots of Ol' Grand-Dad bourbon at the bar.

When Martin Luther King and his entourage decided to bring the civil rights struggle to Birmingham, the plan was to get Bull Connor to "tip his hand" as a reaction to peaceful protests.

Bull Connor did. His troops responded to a walk-out of students with fire hoses and snarling German Shepherds. This was captured in photos that landed on the cover the major papers in America the next day. The civil rights movement gained support from the shocked moderates of the country, and within a year a series of civil rights laws were passed.

The Molton was torn down in 1979, replaced by the Financial Center which stands there today.

*source: David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell.

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On May 19, 1925, Malcolm Little was born to Earl and Louise Little. This location is where the future civil rights speaker known as Malcolm X would spend his first few years.

The actual home at the corner of 34th and Pinkey St was torn down in 1965, before the owner knew of the historical significance. Since then, six adjacent lots have been purchased and a park has been established by the Malcolm X Foundation.

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After Malcolm X left the Nation of Islam in 1964, he formed the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU). The group held weekly meetings at the Audubon Ballroom until February 21, 1965, when Malcolm X was assassinated at this location by Nation of Islam member Talmadge Hayer (as well as two other accused shooters).

Since then, the ballroom and property was purchased by Columbia University and converted into a public/private biotech research park. Through a series of protests, the original façade was maintained and converted to the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center.

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Nobel laureate and president of South Africa, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (July 18, 1918-Dec 5, 2013), served 18 years of his 27 years in prison for sabotage against the apartheid government on Robben Island off the coast of South Africa.

21 years in captivity
Shoes too small to fit his feet
His body abused, but his mind is still free
You're so blind that you cannot see-
"Nelson Mandela", The Specials

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