RICH: Civil rights fight included many unknown heroes

History’s full of people who made a difference, who took a stand or voiced an opinion against injustice when it cost them plenty. Either it wasn’t known at the time or time covers their boldness in cobwebs and chokes away the memory.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately when it comes to two of the greatest newspapermen ever known to the state of Mississippi: Hodding Carter II and Oliver Emmerich. Mr. Carter (whose son, Hodding Carter III, was a member of President Jimmy Carter’s administration) was owner/publisher of the Greenville Delta Democrat Time,s while Mr. Emmerich (whose son, John, continued the newspaper and grandson, Wyatt, has built it into an impressive chain of newspapers) also served in both capacities for the McComb Enterprise-Journal. I feel certain that these two outstanding ethical journalists would want me to tell you from the onset that this column runs in both newspapers.