RIP (former Senator) Harris Wofford
One of the little known heroes of the civil rights movement. Fitting that he passed away on Monday, the day we celebrated MLK's birthday and legacy.
Obit from Pgh Post-Gazette:https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-state/2019/01/22/Harris-Wofford-civil-rights-activist-who-helped-Kennedy-win-White-House-dies-at-92/stories/201901220082
Well before Mr. Wofford pursued elective office, the self-described New Deal Democrat was known as a civil rights activist who participated in Kings 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala. Mr. Wofford was among the first whites to graduate from Howard University Law School.
Working on Mr. Kennedys 1960 presidential campaign, Mr. Wofford arranged a meeting between the candidate and Mr. King. And when Mr. King was arrested for participating in an Atlanta sit-in, Mr. Wofford advised that Mr. Kennedy call and offer sympathy to the reverends wife, Coretta Scott King.
That call has been credited with helping swing the election in Mr. Kennedys favor, after word of the gesture spread through black communities nationwide, helped by leaflets on blue paper the campaign quietly distributed at Mr. Woffords direction.