As you are no doubt aware, 2013 is the 50th anniversary of the events in Birmingham back in 1963. The current mayor of Birmingham, William Bell, has compared the events that happened in The Magic City to a revolution.

And he is right.

It was a revolution that swept over the whole world.

But what type of revolution was it? [2013 in Birmingham opens year of commemoration of 1963 civil rights events, 1-1-13, Birmingham News]:

That year, the city received worldwide attention for its racial intolerance. And now, in 2013, Birmingham will observe the 50th anniversary of that pivotal year in the civil rights movement and commemorate the struggle that served as a catalyst to change Birmingham, the United States and the globe.

"The trauma of 1963 was a prerequisite for the change that came later because the sources of resistance were so numerous and so entrenched that there had to be a profound disruption in order to bring about significant change," said LaMonte, who also served as the former director of the University of Alabama at Birmingham Center for Urban Affairs, and as a senior staff member in the administration of Richard Arrington, Birmingham's first black mayor.

The impact of the Birmingham movement was global, said Lawrence Pijeaux, president and CEO of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. He recalled a 2002 visit by South African leaders Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former President F.W. deKlerk, both Nobel Peace Prize winners.

"On that occasion, Tutu shared in a luncheon speech that, 'The courage of civil rights protesters who helped end segregation in Alabama inspired opponents who overthrew apartheid in South Africa,'" Pijeaux recalled.

Birmingham Mayor William Bell has compared the events of 1963 to a revolution. "In 2013, the passing of time allows us to see Birmingham 1963 for what it truly was," he said. "Historical scholars have called the modern Civil Rights Movement 'the Second American Revolution.' And Birmingham 1963 was a key battleground in that revolution."

The impact of the events in Birmingham were global, that's for sure. South Africa, as The Economist noted, is dying. Though no one will point out the obvious, it was the events in Birmingham in 1963 that helped destroy the apartheid system - that protected the lives of whites in that nation - of South Africa.

With black people in control of the South African government, a process of radical redistribution of wealth and payback for white racial injustice in the past became the norm (Black Economic Empowerment, anyone?).

Much like life in 2013 Birmingham (a city that is 74 percent black and completely dominated by black political power), South Africa is dying [Cry, the beloved country: South Africa is sliding downhill while much of the rest of the continent is clawing its way up, The Economist, 10-20-12]: