OUT & ABOUT

An Encouraging Verdict for Kotz's 'Judgment Days'

Author Nick Kotz signs Sandy and Gil Barkin's copy of his work. (Rebecca D'Angelo - For The Washington Post)

Millions of Americans know the very public struggle of Martin Luther King Jr., but few are familiar with the behind-the-scenes political partnership he forged with President Lyndon Johnson during the last four years of his life. In conjunction with this year's observance of the King holiday, 200 Washington civil rights alums gathered Wednesday night to toast the publication of Nick Kotz's new book, "Judgment Days: Lyndon Baines Johnson, Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Laws That Changed America."

Kotz, a former Washington Post reporter, was there at the beginning. "He was one of a small army of journalists who covered civil rights," said NAACP Chairman Julian Bond. "Some of them weren't that good, but he was."

The reception at the St. Regis Hotel was hosted by the author's proud wife, Mary Lynn. Old friends shared stories and memories of the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and their impact on Washington. "Back then, I really didn't think we were going to make it. I didn't think this city was going to make it," said Mel Elfin, former Washington bureau chief for Newsweek. "But we did."

Ayn Vallis and daughter Amy survey the scene. (Rebecca D'Angelo - For The Washington Post)

Revelers, including Haynes Johnson, William Raspberry and Togo West, leafed through the book, discussing the relatively unknown relationship between the blunt Texan and the Southern minister. "I thought there were a lot of qualities that King and Johnson both had that got kind of short shrift," Kotz said. "He and Johnson both had an outstanding ability to form coalitions." And their partnership made history. Said Harry McPherson, former special counsel to Johnson: "King's suffering is what you could say brought about these acts, and Johnson was the political brain that constructed them."

A Party Where Past Is Prologue

Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) and NPR's Ken Rudin try to "get over it." (Rebecca D'Angelo - For The Washington Post)

Polite Washingtonians are officially nonpartisan during inauguration week. Drowning their sorrows in Capital Iced Tea (a potent red concoction with blue star ice cubes), well-mannered Kerry voters gathered at the Palm restaurant Thursday night for a "Get Over It" cocktail party. "No hard feelings," said political consultant Mame Reiley. "Patriots first, Democrats second." Palm General Manager Tommy Jacomo will be wearing a cowboy hat on inauguration night. "I always say, 'Just call me Switzerland.' "

A Revolutionary Idea for the Mall

Sculptor Ed Dwight at Friday's exhibit opening, taking a night off from his monumental work. (Dudley M. Brooks - For The Washington Post)

"This is not black history. This is American history," proclaimed Maurice Barboza, founder of the Black Revolutionary War Patriots Foundation, to a crowd of 150 guests at the opening Friday night of the exhibition "African American Legacy."

At the Pepco Edison Place Gallery near Metro Center, the organization displayed a model of what it hopes will be the newest addition to the Mall next year, a memorial to black patriots. Designed by engineer and sculptor Ed Dwight, the bronze memorial would stretch 90 feet as it charts the story of black soldiers in the American Revolution. Dwight, who creates realistic figures, won a competition 15 years ago to design it. "They wanted it to be abstract," he said. "In this city, our nation's capital, there was issue with putting black faces on the National Mall." The exhibit, open until March 18, includes other sculptures spanning black history from the Revolution to the Jazz Age.

With Laura Thomas