Walhallan shares thoughts on Black History

A white Walhalla area resident remembers disadvantages that blacks encountered before the Civil Rights era ushered in an end to segregation.  And Jim Sanders remembers that as a white person he felt guilty.  For whatever reason, he was not mindful of prejudice while growing up and playing baseball in a Walhalla mill community.  He excelled at the game and was admired in Walhalla for his pitching prowess which allowed him to sign a contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the early 1960s.  Not lost on Sanders, as he made it to Vero Beach, Florida for spring training, that he was part of an organization which broke the color line 15 years earlier by signing Jackie Robinson.  Sanders witnessed discrimination against players of color who, in some instances, were not allowed to share the same hotel accommodations or eat at the same restaurants as their teammates.