This is an opinion column. Get my weekly newsletter, The Barbershop . Sign up here for free!

Something is stirring, finally. Something is stirring the somnolence of Birmingham’s Civil Rights District.

Something is on the verge of sprouting from the hallowed, long-neglected soil near downtown — an area that should be a beacon to all who honor resistance, resiliency and sacrifice. That should be bearing the fruits of economic development, yet lies mostly dormant as historic buildings deteriorate, lots languish empty and overgrown, and fearless voices fade.

Something is stirring, though, and Herschell Hamilton’s hand is all over it..

Hamilton, who grew up in Titusville, is a builder. Of real estate projects. Of coalitions.

The district sorely needs both, as I wrote earlier this sum

See Full Page