TUSKEGEE, Alabama (CNN) -- A trip through sweltering Alabama to experience some of the civil rights movement's most important sites brought history books to life for my family and me. A marker shows the 54-mile route from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, that voting rights marchers took. The road trip, with my wife and 14-year-old son, was an extraordinary experience, and not only because I'm African-American. As an American, it was inspiring to experience the places where people fought and died for equality and the right to vote. Many of the places we visited are maintained by the National Park Service, which has made an extraordinary effort to preserve pivotal places related to the movement. When you think of national parks, great natural attractions like Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon come to mind. But the National Park System has also preserved and restored many living history sites from the civil rights movement.
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First stop provided early peek at Tuskegee Airmen site, which will open in October
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Tuskegee University museum houses work of scientist George Washington Carver
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In Tuskegee, Taliaferro's offers tasty, reasonably priced buffet of Southern favorites
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During trip, those who experienced civil rights movement gave first-person accounts
The fried chicken and "mean greens" are listed in "@placeholder's 100 meals you should eat before you die" brochure.