T.R.M. Howard is not a name that you immediately recognize in the civil rights movement, but he was the man behind those who would make big waves. Fannie Lou Hamer, Medgar Evers, and Jesse Jackson were all made bigger by Howard’s quiet influence. A new book, Black Maverick:T.R.M. Howard’s Fight for Civil Rights and Economic Power, sheds light on the life of a man whose personality made it easy for history books to leave him by the wayside. Linda Royster Beito, chair of the department of social sciences at Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, is one of the book’s co-authors.

Music Button, Various Players, “Echo Of My Dream”, from the CD The Benny Carter Centennial Project”, (Evening Star records)