Happy Friday. History is personal.
One of the funniest anecdotes I ever collected while reporting on civil rights was from Joanne Bland, then the founder of a small voting rights museum in Selma, Ala. In 1965, she was among a group of young children being prepped to join the many protests planned against the state violence now known as Bloody Sunday. "King is coming!" their families were told, which the adults understood to mean Martin Luther. “But us kids thought it was King, this dog, who was on tv,” she recalled, referring to a popular show about a crime-fighting Alaskan malamute. They were thrilled. Then a preacher showed up. No longer thrilled. Luckily, the good reverend brought along some friends. “We all knew who Harry Belafonte was,” she said with a big smile.
