Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the first African-American woman to hold that title, has agreed to make a high-profile appearance at an Alabama country club whose discriminatory policy towards blacks provoked a national furor two decades ago.

Tuesday's announcement that Rice will serve as an honorary chair for a senior's event at the Shoal Creek Country Club in her home town of Birmingham next May is notable because of the controversy linked to the course when it hosted the 1990 P.G.A. Championship.

Prior to that tournament, club founder Hall Thompson had openly boasted to a local newspaper reporter about Shoal Creek's admission policies. "We don't discriminate in every other area except blacks," Thompson said, triggering a uproar that clouded the event. (read more)