Hibbett Middle School sixth-graders Monday got a look into life during the civil rights era through a Selma native and author who was close friends with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Richie Jean Jackson said it wasn’t her long-standing friendship with King, arguably the most celebrated of civil rights leaders, that provided her inspiration to write the book, “The House by the Side of the Road: The Selma Civil Rights Movement.”

“It was a matter of me acknowledging the truth of how things happened and being true to myself,” Jackson said. “I wanted to put the truth out there because through the years I grew tired of reading accounts of things that either didn’t happen or happened much differently than reported.”

Jackson was in Florence for a book signing and presentation at the University of North Alabama. She spoke to Shirley Douglass’ class after learning the sixth-grade teacher is passionate in teaching her students about the civil rights movement.

“There’s just not a lot of true teaching anymore about this period in our lives,” Jackson said.

Students appeared to listen intently as Jackson, in her plain-spoken style, told students that the decisions they make now will be the building blocks for the next generation.

“Do one thing for me and know that what you put in your head, no one can take away. Open your mind and pour in the knowledge. Get information from these people right here and insist they teach you everything they know,” she said, motioning toward several teachers and retired educators standing to the side in the classroom. “And when you know what they know, don’t stop there. Every town has a library. You go there and read and learn even more.”

She shared stories about times she and her husband spent with King and how she learned intricate details of King’s approach to the civil rights movement simply by being quiet and listening as he spoke to others during gatherings in her home and during meals together.

It was those accounts she wrote in her book, the details she calls, “the truth about what really happened.”

“You see, I know the truth,” she said. “I know how this kind and gentle, brilliant man conducted himself. But it isn’t enough to just know the truth — you have to tell it. That’s why I wrote this book.”

Student Sydney White said it was a privilege to hear what Jackson had to say to her class because, “I’ve never been in the presence of anyone who was actually a part of that time.”

For White, Jackson’s stories were fascinating, but also deeply inspiring, she said.

“She makes me think I can do big things,” White said.

Lisa Singleton-Rickman can be reached at 256-740-5735 or lisa.singleton-rickman@TimesDaily.com.