28 years ago today, Keshia Thomas was 18 years old when the KKK held a rally in her home town of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Hundreds of protesters turned out to tell the white supremacist organization that they were not welcome in the progressive college town. At one point during the event, a man with an SS tattoo and wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with a Confederate flag ended up on the protesters' side of the fence and a small group began to chase him. He was quickly knocked to the ground and kicked and hit with placard sticks.

As people began to shout, "Kill the Nazi," the high school student, fearing that mob mentality had taken over, decided to act. Thomas threw herself on top of one of the men she had come to protest, protecting him from the blows, and told the crowd that you "can't beat goodness into a person." In discussing her motivation for this courageous act after the event, she stated, "Someone had to step out of the pack and say, 'this isn't right'... I knew what it was like to be hurt. The many times that that happened, I wish someone would have stood up for me... violence is violence - nobody deserves to be hurt, especially not for an idea."

Thomas never heard from the man after that day but months later, a young man came up to her to say thanks, telling her that the man she had protected was his father. For Thomas, learning that he had a son brought even greater significance to her heroic act. As she observed, "For the most part, people who hurt... they come from hurt. It is a cycle. Let's say they had killed him or hurt him really bad. How does the son feel? Does he carry on the violence?"

Mark Brunner, the student photographer who took this now famous photograph, added that what was so remarkable was who Thomas saved: "She put herself at physical risk to protect someone who, in my opinion, would not have done the same for her. Who does that in this world?"

In response to those who argued that the man deserved a beating or more, Pulitzer Prize-winning commentator Leonard Pitts Jr. offered this short reflection in The Miami Herald: "That some in Ann Arbor have been heard grumbling that she should have left the man to his fate, only speaks of how far they have drifted from their own humanity. And of the crying need to get it back.

Keshia's choice was to affirm what they have lost.

Keshia's choice was human.

Keshia's choice was hope."

While listening to my favorite song by Ella Riot over morning coffee, I thought, "today is the perfect time to visit Ann Arbor." It was the day after Christmas, so I knew it would be relatively quiet with students and residents celebrating the holidays.

I bought my ticket online at d2a2.com for a 12:15PM departure and headed to Grand Circus Park to catch the bus.

The bus was spacious and clean; I even had a cup holder for my coffee and USB ports in front of my seat. When you arrive in Ann Arbor, the bus takes you to the Blake Transit Station downtown. There’s a lot of great cafes and shops nearby- and the library is across the street.

Before leaving Ann Arbor, I stopped at the library to read a bit while I charged my phone. Each way on the D2A2 is $6, and you can change your trip time up to 5 minutes before! I almost considered extending my trip so I could get dinner, but I opted for my 5PM bus so I could enjoy an evening at home.

"In Iceland, the tradition is to gift books Christmas Eve then read them all night while eating chocolate. Perhaps we're all a little Icelandic at heart."