Black America looks to the man whose appeal transcends race

I WENT to university in the USA in September 1963. It was a tremendous culture shock going from Tralee to Davenport, Iowa.

I had never talked to a black person simply because I only saw only one in Tralee while growing up. He was in the industrial school and was not allowed to mix with the local boys for some reason best known to the Christian Brothers.

There was already plenty of news coverage about the civil rights issue in southern states, but I was shocked to find that for all the talk about civil rights, there was a strong streak of racism in northern states.