Carol-Anne Hossler

Dr. King, The Rabbi, and Me Carol-Anne Hossler

In 1963, Carol-Anne was 13 years old and hypnotized by the civil rights movement because much of it involved children her age. She read Time magazine and watched TV newscasts flash Birmingham police attacking children, the March on Washington, Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech, and a church bombing. During festivities for a family wedding at a country club in Knoxville, Tennessee, she observed young, white girls at their Debutante Ball. Black, tuxedoed wait staff lined the ballroom walls and waited to serve the guests. She wondered: Are those the jobs people marched for at the March on Washington? In early 1964, she learned that Dr. King was scheduled to speak at Temple Israel in Westport, Connecticut. Carol-Anne called Temple Israel and asked to attend. Rabbi Rubenstein invited her to the service and arranged for her to meet and talk with Dr. King. That conversation changed her life.