"Hazel Bryan Massery was curious, and reflective... One day, she realized, her children would learn that the snarling little brat in their history books was their mother.

She frequented the black history section at the local Barnes & Noble, buying books by Cornel West and Shelby Steele and the companion volume to Eyes on the Prize.

The reunion provided an opportunity for acts of reconciliation, as noted in this editorial from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on the first day of 1998:One of the fascinating stories to come out of the reunion was the apology that Hazel Bryan Massery made to Elizabeth Eckford for a terrible moment caught forever by the camera.

That 40-year-old picture of hate assailing grace — which had gnawed at Ms. Massery for decades — can now be wiped clean, and replaced by a snapshot of two friends.

The apology came from the real Hazel Bryan Massery, the decent woman who had been hidden all those years by a fleeting image.

When asked for permission to reprint a poster titled "Reconciliation" showing Elizabeth and Hazel shaking hands, Elizabeth granted it with a requirement that a small sticker be included stating, "True reconciliation can occur only when we honestly acknowledge our painful, but shared, past.