From Protest to Politics

Blacks are registering, winning—and eyeing the presidency

For Jesse Jackson it was a visit laden with symbolism. Eighteen years earlier, the black leader had dodged police horses and clubs with Martin Luther King Jr. on the bloody civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery. An apoplectic Governor George Wallace had closed the capitol, which brazenly flew a Confederate flag, to prevent the marchers from delivering a petition protesting voting discrimination. Back in Montgomery last week, Jackson was welcomed graciously by Wallace, who served him pecan rolls on a silver tray and iced tea in...