Mayor of Rock Hill, S.C. Doug Echols tells the story of a 1961 segregation protest during the 18th annual Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations banquet Monday at the Best Western Plus Coeur d’Alene Inn. (Coeur d'Alene Press photo: Shawn Gust)

Mayor Doug Echols, of Rock Hill, S.C., said the 1960s were tough times for America, the South and the community he serves. "Segregation ruled the day," Echols told the 321 people gathered at the Best Western Plus Coeur d'Alene Inn. "But at the same time, the struggle for civil rights was underway." Echols was the keynote speaker at the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations annual Human Rights Banquet on Monday night. The fifth-term Rock Hill mayor focused his remarks on his city's civil rights journey and a group of men who were known as the "Friendship 9"/Keith Cousins, Coeur d'Alene Press. More here.

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