Forty-five years ago, a group of students had the courage to make a stand for what they felt was right. They walked out of their classrooms two months short of Graduation Day and spent the remainder of their school term and their summers working for civl rights.

Last Wednesday, they came together for the first time since 1965 and finally walked the graduation line.

They didn’t “ditch” school for the sake of letting themselves out early. They had a purpose for themselves, their families and their progeny — for everyone, really. It was a time when segregation was the natural order of things. Today, integration, equality and fellowship are the norm.

Congratulations to the U.S. Jones High School Class of 1965. For all of the walking you did from Demopolis to Selma and from Selma to Montgomery, the most rewarding steps you made for yourselves may have been those steps you took on Wednesday. You may have missed your ceremony in 1965, but as far as 2010 is concerned, you certainly earned it.