If diversity were a place, it would be the South. People who visit here get a taste of that variety---in entertainment, cuisine, the arts, good places, good times---that brings them back time and again. Folks in Birmingham love to cook and love to eat. Bouillabaisse and barbeque. Fried okra and foie gras. Sushi, sweet tea and seven layer salad. Perfect ribs and rack of lamb. Tapas and turnip greens. Martinis and meat & three. None of these necessarily in combination of course. Just a wide wonderful range of dining decisions in a city where food writers from around the world congregate because of its word-of-mouth reputation.

Since diversity goes beyond cooking and cuisine, so do we. Water recreation and Wedgwood collections. Science centers and skate parks. Mountain biking (the best) and museums by the dozen. The zoo and botanical gardens too.

And diverse music? Well what is the capital of American Idol? Yes, it’s Birmingham, with Taylor Hicks, Ruben Studdard and Bo Bice. The music is plentiful and nice. Jazz, blues, gospel, alternative, rock, country, new punk, sacred harp, bluegrass and reggae---all live, all the time---rock our world.

By nature, what diversity first brings to mind is the diversity of our people. With a rich history of Italian, Lebanese, Greek and Asian immigrants, along with our newer Latino neighbors, Birmingham benefits from gifts of many cultures. The influences are all around us and beautifully melded into the diversity of our Southern culture.

Long known as a city of civil rights conflict and reconciliation, Birmingham has matured into a city that acknowledges and embraces the impact of our past, both negative and positive. Opened in the 1990s, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute is a moving and educational example of how a city broken by hate found a way to heal itself. Looking at the city today, there is little evidence of the scarring, though it will always be with us.

Today’s social scene is the picture of diversity as well, with folks of all ethnic backgrounds enjoying and learning from one another, arguing issues of the day, and sharing professional and social time together in an era that has made the bad old days almost invisible.

So the South, the city, is all about diversity. Call it a trendy catch phrase. Call it a movement of the moment. But call it right. Birmingham lives and has lived it long before diversity became the topic of national seminars and academic study.

Diversity comes as naturally to us as cooking a skillet of cornbread. Enjoy it. And enjoy your visit to Birmingham.