Better late than never

Getting a newspaper to admit a mistake is as frequent and likely as a change in Vatican policy -- minus the fanfare. \n On July 4, the Herald-Leader of Lexington, Ky., did the unthinkable: it ran a front-page exposé of the Lexington print media's virtual cover-up of the local civil rights movement during the 1950s and '60s, alongside two related articles and a full-page of previously unreleased photos of heroic civil disobedience in their community.\nThe Knight-Ridder-owned conglomerate of the two daily newspapers that circulated in Lexington during that time, the Herald and the Leader, also ran an editorial Sunday that fully admitted to its complicity in Lexington's history of segregation and racial discrimination. \nProbably amazed at the unabashed admission of wrong-doing, national media outlets such as CBS, NPR, CNN, Fox News and The New York Times either contacted the Herald-Leader or otherwise documented this historic confession. With any luck, these organizations will follow suit with some sort of contagious truth-telling syndrome.\nAlthough 45 years after the beginning of the Lexington sit-ins, which actually preceded the famed lunch counter sit-in at Woolworth's in North Carolina by almost seven months, these recent acts of contrition by the Herald-Leader are a welcomed voice from a South -- and to a larger extent, a nation -- somewhat reluctant to face the demons of its past. \nThe trend to downplay the evil that was rampant in the South from its inception through the civil rights movement is a wholly unacceptable way for America to view the deeds of its predecessors, both living and deceased. The "times were different then" excuse does not hold up, as perfectly decent people do not often burn churches, turn dogs on students or lynch black children for whistling at white women. The abrogation of responsibility by the Lexington newspapers to inform the public about the brave few who tried to stop their own subhuman treatment in their community, according to their editorial, "was wrong and never should have happened." Amen. \nBut of course, there are those who lived through it with those responsible who disagree.\nExplaining the actions of his late father Fred Wachs, the general manager and publisher of both papers, Fred Wachs, Jr. was quoted in a Herald-Leader article, saying, "He didn't like the idea of some of these rabble rousers coming in and causing trouble." (My italics.) Yes, these rabble rousers who wanted the equality and freedom promised in the Declaration of Independence and the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution. The nerve of these people! Mr. Wachs, Jr. went on to say, "But he supported school desegregation, and (he) wanted it done without any problems." Yes, problems like actually going to school with black kids.\nIn spite of the claims by Mr. Wachs, Jr. and his ilk, the people of Lexington were deprived of their right to know what was happening in their community. Many of the acts in Lexington that were left off the pages entirely or reduced to blurbs on the back pages of the Herald and the Leader either predated or strongly resembled other regional protests of the era. The articles concede that the actions of the two papers of the day "irreparably damaged the historical record" and that we all lost "one of the most important stories of the 20th century." \nMany people would like to forget the past, and they tell us to "get over it." But without complete and utter contrition on the part of those responsible and the recognition of the severe and long-lasting consequences of their actions by others, the long process of healing can never be finished, and we will never "get over it"