The Gates Open

But Simpson chose to look beyond opportunism and hypocrisy and view it all as a great leap forward: "I expect this whole Shoal Creek incident will be remembered someday almost like the Boston Tea Party. Ten years, 100 years from now, when we see mixed golf everywhere, we'll remember this as one of the single most important incidents in our history."

Whether Shoal Creek was indeed the start of a torrent of change in American race relations or merely a teardrop, the fact is, there has been another revolution in Alabama. And, whatever comes of it, we can always be grateful that this time it was bloodless.