Five decades of pain and hurt will not fade quickly, but Mississippi took a solid step toward reconciliation on a past civil rights era incident Sunday.

Dozens of civil rights activists were greeted with a warm welcome and an apologetic tone last weekend, 50 years after arriving in Mississippi to a horribly cruel and hate-filled public response.

The Freedom Riders returned to Mississippi recently to commemorate the 50th anniversary of their original protest.

In 1961, the group of former college students and activists stood up against the segregation found on commercial bus lines in the South. Their protest led to their arrests.

This week, the response to the Freedom Riders was quite different. Respect and honor were the order of the day.

“We apologize to you for your mistreatment in 1961, and we appreciate this chance for atonement and reconciliation,” Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour told the group.

While it’s impossible to make up for past transgressions or right a past wrong, perhaps Sunday’s commemoration was a tiny step toward healing.

As time wears on, hopefully, those Mississippians who lived through the tumultuous 1960s will continue to find ways to join together to build a stronger, more diverse Mississippi for generations to come.

Mississippi’s future is bright — and it needs to be color blind, too.