I woke up Sunday morning thinking about a column on the uproar over the U.S. port debacle. I may very well still get around to exploring that subject after breakfast. But here's a heads up on something that I've been holding off doing for some time and now must deal with.

The Birmingham News today ran an article, a column and a number of photos that have been buried in a closet since the early 1960s dealing with the civil rights movement in "Bomingham." At least a couple of those photos were taken by photographer Spider Martin, one of my best friends in the world who decided to take himself out of the world almost three years ago on April 8, 2003, on the 30th anniversary of his hero Pablo Picasso's death.

Due to the self-serving and revisionist nature of the paper's handling of this issue today, it now becomes imperative that I tell the story I learned about how the news buried the news during the civil rights days. But this will take some time, so check back later to see the result.

In the meantime, you can read the News story on the subject, along with executive editor Tom Scarrett's weak column on the issue, and view some of the photos on the Newhouse corporate chain Web site. While we are glad the News had finally decided to admit some errors from those days, thanks to the work of an intern, do not be fooled by their balderdash. The News was a racist institution then, and there's not much evidence it is that much better now. This is PR to try to save the newspaper by boosting circulation with black readers. Nothing more, nothing less...

From Negatives to Positives
Photos Speak Volumes
Photos: Unseen, Unforgotten