A man I taught to read in Mississippi had his church burned down by the Klan during the period of strife revolving around the murder of three civil rights workers.
At the time I was teaching him to read it was the 80s and he was in his fifties. Since he was illiterate, he had to work three low-paying jobs and was putting his daughters through college. And yet he still found time to be a lay deacon at his church.
He told me the only reason he wanted to learn to read was so he could read the Bible. He was the most humble man I have ever known.
That man remains on my list of Top Ten Heroes of All Time.
He inspired me to start a Life Skills class at the local college which underwrote the literacy program. We taught people how to use a checkbook (remember checkbooks?), read a bus schedule, pay bills, and so on. Things most of us take for granted.
In that same period, I had a local bar placed off limits. The base's girls soccer team had won a local championship and they went out to celebrate. The bar kicked them out because the coach (a Marine) was black.
Mississippi has a long way to go.
