The blind lady was a racist.

John Hope Franklin remembers growing up in racist America. In Oklahoma. A black kid. He joined the Boy Scouts. And took his role as a scout seriously. Enough to want to do a good deed daily. So when Franklin saw a little old blind lady with a cane at curbside in Tulsa, he offered his assistance. Initially, the lady was grateful. Allowed Franklin to take her arm and guide her across the busy street. Then she asked, 'You aren't colored, are you?' When she learned that he was black, the lady snipped, 'Take your filthy hands off me.' Yes, the youngster was learning that it would be a difficult life. Anyway, Franklin died Wednesday at age 94. He was a prolific scholar of African-American history who strongly influenced thinking about slavery and Reconstruction while helping to further the civil rights struggle. --Jim Broede