Racism was a largely abstract concept for Gary Hannah for most of his life. He knew it existed. He sensed the influence of racial attitudes and stereotypes on our society. But he'd never confronted it face-to-face in his personal life.

At least, not until a few years ago, when he became principal of H.W. Byers High School in Marshall County, Miss.

That's when this black educator first came into contact with a segment of the population that he'd never before encountered -- poor, working-class whites. These were the kind of whites who generations earlier had joined the Ku Klux Klan. These were the poor farmers and laborers who had once supported Jim Crow so that -- as poor and politically powerless as they were -- they were not at the bottom of the social and economic ladder.

As Hannah tells it, only a few parents revealed their true feelings -- and they never said anything overtly offensive. There were no racial epithets voiced. It was more the attitude of these parents that spoke volumes. It was their sense of silent outrage that they had to deal with a black man in a position of authority.

This week, as I wander Marshall County to research an article for ASBJ, I'm hearing a lot of stories about the role that race plays in the public schools -- ugly stories from decades gone by and uplifting stories of today's hard-working educators. I look forward to sharing more of these stories in the future.

In the end, Hannah's story has a happy ending. A school administrator who knows his business, Hannah did not allow himself to be embittered or distracted by the foolishness of a few ignorant individuals -- instead he has worked to win the confidence of parents and community members. And he appears to be succeeding.

Whether he has won over that handful of parents who initially struggled to accept him . . . that remains anyone's guess.

Be sure to check back in November when my cover article on education and race in rural Mississippi is posted on www.asbj.com.

Del Stover, Senior Editor