There are two national figures that were instrumental in making this possible - Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas and Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota. As Senators, they got the Voting Rights Act passed and later President Johnson pushed through the 1964 Civil Rights Act which brought the massive power of the federal government to bear against those who had rigged the system to keep blacks as second class citizens across the country. Humphrey was firmly committed to the cause of civil rights, but unable for years to overcome strong opposition and entrenched power of segregationists in Congress. Johnson used his ingenuity, skill, power and determination as Senate Majority Leader to get the necessary backing of key Southern Democrats for voting rights, as Robert Caro describes in Master of the Senate. There were also the courageous men who sat as judges, especially in the Fifth Circuit during the time of change and provided justice for the people of the South, ignoring all the pressure placed on them to preserve the traditional status quo. And we should not forget the Rev. Martin Luther King for inspiring a non-violent movement that, like Mohandas Ghandi, shamed the establishment into righting wrongs.

Today, Mississippi has more elected African-American public officials than any other state. "Separate but equal" was revealed as a fraud and is a dead doctrine. Doors of opportunity have been opened across the country. And an African-American has been elected by mostly non-African-American voters to the highest office.

I remember the times you are recalling and the people we knew who were directly involved, including KIvie Kaplan, chair of the National Commission of Social Action of our movement; Al Vorspan, then its live wire spark and central core, Eugene Lipman of blessed memory, and so many others of that time. We would have found it difficult to believe that this current event could have come off this soon and this well.The future certainly looks wonderfully bright at this point, especially considering how far we allhave come.