When Zaki Charleston II turned five, Thomas Biggs had completed a thorough study of the schools in and around Charleston, South Carolina. He chose Porter-Gaud School for young Zaki. It was the most reputable K-12 college preparatory school in Charleston, started by the Episcopal Church in 1867. The private school stood on the banks of the Ashley River, sweeping past the west side of Charleston. Biggs also noted Porter-Gaud was one of the first schools in the south to open its doors to non-white students. The doors weren't opened wide, but they were opened. The school was ninety-two percent white and three percent black. Asians, Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics comprised the rest of the student body. Thomas discussed the ethnic makeup of the school to Zaki on their way to his first day of kindergarten. They sat in the backseat of his new 1989 Mercedes-Benz, Moses Charleston driving.

"Zaki, most of the children in school will be white children. Some of them may not be friendly at first. You must win them over by being nice to them even if they aren't nice to you," Biggs instructed. "Do you understand?"

Zaki nodded his understanding.

"When your teachers tell you to do something, you say, `Yes ma'am' or Yes sir," Biggs continued. "Say `thank you' when someone says something nice about you or your schoolwork. Say `please' when you ask for something."

Moses pulled up in front of the school, smiling broadly, Biggs still sounding like a worried grandmother in the backseat prepping Zaki for his first day of kindergarten.

Thomas Biggs held little Zaki's hand as he lead him into Porter-Gaud School. The white parents leading their own children into school had become used to seeing Thomas around Charleston accompanied by little Zaki. They paid little attention.

Thomas stopped in the office to make certain Zaki was properly registered and checked in. He then walked him to his kindergarten classroom to meet his teacher, Mrs. Rock. She stood in the doorway greeting her new charges.

"Good morning, Mr. Biggs," she said. "I see you have brought someone to school today."

"Good morning, Mrs. Rock," Thomas answered. "This is Zaki Charleston." Biggs bent down and whispered into Zaki's ear.

Zaki extended his hand toward Mrs. Rock. "Good morning, Mrs. Rock," he said.

"Why, good morning, Zaki. Welcome to Porter-Gaud School," she said with a smile.

Biggs nudged Zaki. "Thank you, ma'am," Zaki said.

"Oh, my, you are a polite little boy. Good," she answered. "Let me show you your desk, Zaki.

Mrs. Rock took the little black boy by the hand and walked him to his tiny desk, which was in the back of the fifth row. She began chatting with Zaki, looking over at Thomas, suggesting she felt he should leave the boy with her.

Thomas walked over and joined them instead. "Zaki, why don't you go over there and look at all the books Mrs. Rock has on her shelves," Biggs suggested. Without hesitation, Zaki ran to the bookshelves.

"Mrs. Rock, I'm afraid I have a request before I leave for the day," Biggs said.

"Of course, Mr. Biggs," she answered

"I want Zaki to sit in the front row where the smartest children should sit, and he will be one of your smartest children," Thomas said.

"Oh, well, I've never reserved the front row for the smartest children, Mr. Biggs," she answered.

"Nonetheless, I prefer to have Zaki in the front row, so he doesn't miss anything, Mrs. Rock.

"Very well Mr. Biggs. I can switch Zaki to a front row seat, if you wish," Mrs. Rock stammered.

"Thank you, Mrs. Rock," Thomas said. "One more thing. If you need anything for your room the school can't or won't supply, you notify me, and I will make certain you get it.

"Oh, well, thank you, Mr. Biggs. How kind of you," she said.

"You are welcome, Mrs. Rock. I'm serious about my offer. I want Zaki to have the best education possible. He will someday be a leader of men," Biggs bragged. He extended his hand to Mrs. Rock, nodded his head, smiled, and exited the room.

At 2:35 p.m., Thomas was back at Porter-Gaud to pick up Zaki from his first day of school. This time he was driving the car himself.

When Zaki saw Thomas enter the room, he shouted, "Papa Thomas! Papa Thomas!" and ran to him and hugged his legs. Then he walked across the room to a pretty little girl with chestnut hair and blue eyes, took her by the hand, and led her back to where Thomas was standing.

"This is my best friend in school, Papa Thomas. Her name is Paula Walton," Zaki said.

Thomas extended his hand, taking the little girl's hand in his, and then he whispered to Zaki. Zaki said, "This is Papa Thomas, Paula," Zaki added.

"You must be Senator Gordon Walton's little girl," Thomas said.

"Yes, he's my daddy," Paula answered.

"Did you learn something special today?" Thomas asked the little girl.

"Yes, I learned to write my whole name," Paula said. "Zaki already knew how to write his whole name," she added.

Thomas patted Zaki on the head. "Well, we've been working on reading and writing and arithmetic for a while now, haven't we Zaki?" Thomas said.

Zaki smiled and shook his head in confirmation, and then the two children ran over to the play station to busy themselves.

A tall, beautiful, chestnut-haired woman walked into the room. She stopped and stared over at the play station where Zaki and Paula were playing. The woman froze for an instant, momentarily losing her composure, and then visibly regained it, smiling as she called from the doorway.

"Paula, come dear," she called.

When Paula turned around and saw her mother, she took Zaki by the hand and led him to her. "Mommy, this is my best friend Zaki," she said. "This is my mommy, Zaki."

"Well, Zaki, how do you do?" Carol Walton said, rather ill at ease.

Zaki extended his hand to Paula's mother, looked her directly in the eye, and said, "I'm doing fine, ma'am."

"Good afternoon, Thomas," Carol said, as she took her daughter by the hand and led her from the classroom.

Mrs. Rock looked across the room at Thomas, wondering if he understood the implied message Carol Walton had just given him. Thomas nodded to Mrs. Rock, took Zaki's hand, and led him from his kindergarten room at Porter-Gaud School. He understood Carol Walton's silent message. He also understood politics and made a mental note to closely monitor Zaki's life in the school.

The next day when Thomas returned to pick Zaki up from school, he waited in the car like most of the other parents. He told Zaki he would not come to his room to pick him up every day; if he did not, Zaki should come outside and look for his red car. Thomas kept a close watch on the door as the children hurried out, some with their parents, some by themselves. He saw little Paula come out with her mother. A couple of minutes later, Zaki came out, stopped and looked around, spotted Thomas' red Mercedes and ran to him. Thomas climbed out and gave the boy a big hug, then got him into his car seat and buckled him up. When they had driven a couple of miles in silence, Zaki began to cry.

"What's wrong, Zaki?" Biggs asked.

"Paula isn't in my class anymore," Zaki sobbed, rubbing his eyes with his fists.

"Isn't in your class anymore? Why on earth not?" Biggs responded.

"At recess Paula told me her mother moved her to another class," Zaki said.

Thomas drove on in silence, hiding his anger. He would visit Senator Walton in the...