George C. Wallace: A Change of View

A FEW FACTS Born: Clio, Alabama Attended: Barbour County High School, University of Alabama Law School Occupations Before Politics: Boxer, Kitchen Helper, Taxi Driver Served as Alabama Governor three times: 1963-1967, 1971-1979, 1983-1987 Ran for President of the United States four times and failed each time

BOXER http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/7624706/George-Wallace.html POLITICIAN

In the PBS broadcast of the American Experience, George Wallace is described in the following manner: “He got his first notoriety with his fists, as a bantam-weight boxer at age 16. Even later, as governor and a candidate for the presidency, the jut of the jaw and lower lip gave him the look of someone always spoiling for a fight. More than anything he loved the limelight and was driven by a hunger for power.” http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/wallace/filmmore/transcript/index.html

AN EARLY BELIEF Blacks and whites should not attend school together.

GOVERNOR OF ALABAMA “I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny, and I say segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever. “ - George Wallace from his first inaugural address in 1963.

Stand in the Schoolhouse Door Governor Wallace stood in schoolhouse door in an attempt to block the admission of Vivian Malone and James Hood to the University of Alabama.

Later that day, Vivian Malone and James Hood held a news conferences after successfully registering as students at the University of Alabama.

A Change of Heart In 1982 George C. Wallace offered a public apology. He stated he was sorry for blocking the integration of public schools.

George Wallace shown with the first African American mayor of Birmingham, Richard Arrington in 1984.

Wallace and the Commodores

Wallace attending the 30th Anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March

In Emory Magazine of Spring 1996, John D. Thomas described the scene this way, “Wallace attending a ceremony honoring the thirtieth anniversary of the Selma-to-Montgomery civil rights march, which he had vehemently opposed. Slumping in his wheelchair and clad in an ill-fitting suit, an elderly Wallace holds hands with Southern Christian Leadership Conference President Joseph Lowery. In front of them is a podium that bears a poster featuring the likeness of Martin Luther King Jr., whom Wallace had described as a ‘phony’ and a ‘fraud’ during his first term as governor.”

Photos courtesy of Alabama Department of Archives and History http://www.archives.alabama.gov/