From friends who recount personal experiences with him to those who struggled through those days alongside him, we hear story after story of what the humble leader did for the city of Birmingham.

He worked on this city, his hands got bloody, working in the ditch, cutting trees," Bishop Calvin Woods recalls. "I was there, my brother was there."

Armstrong made a living cutting hair. He made history for much more. He led the way in rights civil rights demonstrations, proudly carrying the American flag. He was a foot soldier, despite police brutality.

Jessie Shepherd was just a teenager at the time.

"It was very scary, very very scary," she says. "You just felt like you had no control over what was happening to you."

But Armstrong wasn't deterred. He filed a lawsuit in 1957 that led to the desegregation of Graymont Elementary School. His children were the first black children to attend.

Armstrong's Barber Shop is closed for business, but stickers on the old shop window provide evidence on the mark Armstrong made in Birmingham. Phrases emphasize the importance of education exercising voting rights.

His customers may have come in for a hair cut, but they came out with a better appreciation for their freedoms.