WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:10.960 I'm going to go ahead and start the presentation. 2 00:00:15.860 --> 00:00:20.600 Inauguration Day, Montgomery, Alabama, January 14, 1963. 3 00:00:21.540 --> 00:00:26.400 George Wallace begins his first year in the State House as John F. Kennedy begins his 4 00:00:26.400 --> 00:00:27.940 third year in the White House. 5 00:00:27.940 --> 00:00:33.360 Many Alabamians ask, who speaks for me, the governor or the president? 6 00:00:34.340 --> 00:00:41.620 In the name of the greatest people that have ever trod this earth, I draw the line in the dust 7 00:00:41.620 --> 00:00:47.220 and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny and I say segregation now, 8 00:00:48.300 --> 00:00:51.840 segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever. 9 00:00:54.540 --> 00:01:00.080 We preach freedom around the world and we mean it and we cherish our freedom here at home. 10 00:01:01.320 --> 00:01:07.300 But are we to say to the world and much more importantly to each other that this is a land 11 00:01:07.300 --> 00:01:13.520 of the free except for the Negroes, that we have no second-class citizens except Negroes, 12 00:01:13.520 --> 00:01:22.560 that we have no class or caste system, no ghettos, no master race except with respect to Negroes. 13 00:01:23.680 --> 00:01:27.200 Now the time has come for this nation to fulfill its promise. 14 00:01:39.360 --> 00:01:45.220 George Wallace had pledged in his successful 1962 campaign to become governor 15 00:01:45.220 --> 00:01:50.980 to stand in the school house door to prevent integration in the schools of Alabama. 16 00:01:53.300 --> 00:01:57.180 When Wallace was accused of being a racist, he refuted the charge. 17 00:01:57.520 --> 00:02:02.600 He insisted that he was speaking for the majority of Alabamians, both black and white. 18 00:02:03.120 --> 00:02:04.340 Most whites agreed. 19 00:02:05.980 --> 00:02:11.600 I have never made a single reference or statement public in my life that reflected upon any man 20 00:02:11.600 --> 00:02:16.760 because of who he happened to be, because I believe that all of us are the handiwork of God. 21 00:02:17.300 --> 00:02:20.900 It just so happened that God made us in many instances different from one another. 22 00:02:20.980 --> 00:02:25.900 We are his handiwork and I believe that segregation of the school system in Alabama 23 00:02:25.900 --> 00:02:30.620 is in her right, that it is in the interest of Negro and white. 24 00:02:31.420 --> 00:02:35.640 I feel that in my heart and the overwhelming majority of people in this state feel that in 25 00:02:35.640 --> 00:02:41.000 their heart and therefore there's nothing sinful or immoral or irreligious about a system that 26 00:02:41.000 --> 00:02:48.620 we believe is in the best interest of all concern. Black Alabamians who knew that segregation had 27 00:02:48.620 --> 00:02:54.000 always resulted in separate but not equal citizenship were protesting in April and May 28 00:02:54.000 --> 00:03:00.420 in Birmingham. Massive protest for equal job opportunity and an equal enjoyment of civil 29 00:03:00.420 --> 00:03:05.980 liberties guaranteed to Americans in all 50 states. More than a thousand students who 30 00:03:05.980 --> 00:03:11.220 demonstrated were expelled by the local school board. Dr. Martin Luther King called for patience 31 00:03:11.220 --> 00:03:12.120 and determination. 32 00:03:13.640 --> 00:03:19.260 Your willingness to go to jail will make jobs possible for everybody else who will finish 33 00:03:19.260 --> 00:03:23.720 school. Negroes going to school, we finish school and can't get any jobs down here anyway. 34 00:03:24.400 --> 00:03:29.460 They throw us in the worst positions and whether we have high school training or not 35 00:03:29.460 --> 00:03:37.360 are beyond that. We are still the last high than the first five. So what we've got to see is 36 00:03:37.360 --> 00:03:44.280 that the things that are being done in such a creative manner by you will make Birmingham 37 00:03:44.280 --> 00:03:53.160 a better city for everybody. They are angry, they are angry because Birmingham, Alabama, 38 00:03:53.220 --> 00:04:00.260 the toughest city in the United States in race relations, the most thoroughly segregated city 39 00:04:00.260 --> 00:04:07.020 in the United States will be at least integrated on a certain level in the next few days. 40 00:04:09.100 --> 00:04:14.700 On May 18th, President Kennedy was greeted by Governor Wallace on the occasion of an 41 00:04:14.700 --> 00:04:21.340 Alabama celebration of the 30th anniversary of TVA, a federal dam project which improved 42 00:04:21.340 --> 00:04:27.140 the lives of all in the state. The president reminded those in the audience that this was 43 00:04:27.140 --> 00:04:33.900 one nation, indivisible. From time to time, statements are made labeling the federal 44 00:04:33.900 --> 00:04:41.920 government an outsider, an intruder, an adversary. In any free federation of states, 45 00:04:42.740 --> 00:04:50.040 of course differences will arise and difficulties will persist. But the people of this area know 46 00:04:50.040 --> 00:04:58.500 that the United States government is not a stranger or not an enemy. It is the people of 50 states 47 00:04:58.500 --> 00:05:03.980 joining in a national effort to seek progress in every state of the union. 48 00:05:04.680 --> 00:05:10.020 But without the national government, without the people of the United States working as a people, 49 00:05:10.480 --> 00:05:16.200 there would be no TVA. Without the national government, the people of the United States 50 00:05:16.200 --> 00:05:24.500 working together, there would be no protection of the family farmer, his income and his financial 51 00:05:24.500 --> 00:05:31.660 independence. Or he never would have been able to electrify his farm, to insure his crop, 52 00:05:32.440 --> 00:05:38.660 to support its price, and to stay ahead of the bugs, the boll weevils, and the mortgage bankers. 53 00:05:39.720 --> 00:05:44.140 Without the national government and the people of the United States working together, 54 00:05:44.700 --> 00:05:51.860 there would be no school lunch or milk programs for our children, no assistance on conserving soil 55 00:05:52.580 --> 00:06:00.200 or harvesting trees, no loans to help a farmer buy his farm, and no security at the bank. 56 00:06:00.880 --> 00:06:05.820 For this is and must always be one nation under God indivisible. 57 00:06:07.980 --> 00:06:13.260 Alabama whites, well aware of President Kennedy's strong pro-civil rights stance, 58 00:06:14.000 --> 00:06:16.460 nevertheless responded to him with great warmth. 59 00:06:20.420 --> 00:06:26.380 Three days later, their goodwill would be put to the test. A federal order would demand the admission 60 00:06:26.380 --> 00:06:32.380 of two black students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, to the University of Alabama, the last 61 00:06:32.380 --> 00:06:38.740 totally segregated state university system in the United States of America. They have gone to 62 00:06:38.740 --> 00:06:45.180 ridiculous extremes to impose an unjust, unworkable, unconstitutional social experiment on the people 63 00:06:45.180 --> 00:06:51.120 of this country by blindly ignoring the rights of the white citizens. We must resist these actions, 64 00:06:51.220 --> 00:06:54.680 which if left unchallenged, can only lead to the destruction of freedom. 65 00:06:59.360 --> 00:07:04.280 Some Alabama whites believe the federal government's action provided an excuse 66 00:07:04.280 --> 00:07:10.160 for violence within the state. They had, however, misinterpreted their governor's militancy. 67 00:07:10.760 --> 00:07:14.300 The Alabama police were instructed to keep the peace. 68 00:07:18.440 --> 00:07:23.680 George Wallace was in favor of segregation, but he demanded law and order. 69 00:07:25.480 --> 00:07:30.580 My friends, we cannot win this fight if we resort to violence, if we resort to bombing, 70 00:07:31.140 --> 00:07:35.820 if we resort to harming the hair on a single person's head in this state. 71 00:07:36.440 --> 00:07:42.160 I ask you to join me in keeping the peace in this state. If you want to stand with me in my fight, 72 00:07:42.160 --> 00:07:48.620 I know that you will do just that. There are people, there are communists, there are left-wingers, 73 00:07:48.760 --> 00:07:53.180 there are people who despise all the people of this country. There are peoples who have pledged 74 00:07:53.180 --> 00:07:57.420 their allegiance to a foreign government who would like to exploit and use this situation. 75 00:07:57.940 --> 00:08:02.620 But if you are an Alabamian or a Southerner or an American who stands with your governor, 76 00:08:03.200 --> 00:08:12.140 then I can tell you that the resorting to violence in any form will only help defeat our cause in the 77 00:08:12.140 --> 00:08:16.540 immigration approach. The eyes of the nation were focused on the University of Alabama. 78 00:08:16.980 --> 00:08:22.540 Would there be violence? Ku Klux Klan leader Robert Shelton commended George Wallace's course 79 00:08:22.540 --> 00:08:28.900 of action and the Klan remained peaceful. We see in the fire and brimstone of constitutional 80 00:08:28.900 --> 00:08:35.340 beliefs of Governor George Wallace, a man that can produce the leadership ability 81 00:08:36.740 --> 00:08:42.120 to rewrite history here in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in the next three to four days. 82 00:08:43.600 --> 00:08:49.560 History, ladies and gentlemen, that will affect you and I, and history that your children and 83 00:08:49.560 --> 00:08:57.140 their children will be reading in years to come. Because we realize that in Governor George Wallace 84 00:08:57.140 --> 00:09:03.520 we have a man of integrity with the ability and the dedication and the sincerity 85 00:09:04.740 --> 00:09:13.560 to help in the leadership capacity of returning this state, the South, and this nation back to 86 00:09:13.560 --> 00:09:14.560 constitutional government. 87 00:09:18.820 --> 00:09:24.560 As governor, I am the highest constitutional officer of the state of Alabama. I embody the 88 00:09:24.560 --> 00:09:30.320 sovereignty of this state and I will be present to bar the entrance of any Negro who attempts to 89 00:09:30.320 --> 00:09:31.960 enroll at the University of Alabama. 90 00:09:34.160 --> 00:09:39.900 On June 11th, 600 Alabama National Guardsmen were ready to keep the peace. 91 00:09:40.620 --> 00:09:44.580 Two black students would attempt to register at the University of Alabama. 92 00:09:45.280 --> 00:09:50.800 The federal government stood behind them. Alabamians were urged to stay away. 93 00:09:52.060 --> 00:09:59.580 825 state troopers, game wardens, and revenue agents stood by, always quiet. Governor Wallace 94 00:09:59.580 --> 00:10:05.900 was ready to carry out his pledge to stand in the schoolhouse door. A faculty member said, 95 00:10:06.100 --> 00:10:11.100 this is just like the late late show. You know how it ends, but you can't go to bed. 96 00:10:17.540 --> 00:10:23.820 George Wallace, representing the state, took his place in the door of the last totally segregated 97 00:10:23.820 --> 00:10:27.580 state university system in the United States of America. 98 00:10:34.680 --> 00:10:40.580 Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach, representing the federal government, served 99 00:10:40.580 --> 00:10:46.720 George Wallace and Alabama with an order to integrate their university. Wallace refused. 100 00:10:51.860 --> 00:10:57.660 President Kennedy now federalized the Alabama National Guard and Brigadier General Henry Graham 101 00:10:57.660 --> 00:11:04.720 of Birmingham told his governor, it is my sad duty to ask you to step aside on order of the 102 00:11:04.720 --> 00:11:08.620 President of the United States. George Wallace stepped aside. 103 00:11:12.860 --> 00:11:19.020 James Hood and Vivian Malone were greeted by scattered applause and no jeers as they were 104 00:11:19.020 --> 00:11:25.100 finally able to register for education equal to that given the other young people in Alabama, 105 00:11:25.100 --> 00:11:32.480 who happened to be white. All of the people had prevented some of the people from denying any 106 00:11:32.480 --> 00:11:39.540 further Vivian Malone and James Hood their rights as free Alabamians and free Americans. 107 00:11:42.740 --> 00:11:49.340 I think our governor did fulfill his pledges that he made to the voters of the state and 108 00:11:50.520 --> 00:11:56.200 I think he did a fine job. I think Alabama prepared for it. I think that's why it was so peaceful. 109 00:11:56.760 --> 00:12:01.120 I'm glad that it's over with. I think it should have been done a long time ago. I don't see any 110 00:12:01.120 --> 00:12:06.100 reason why they should keep any qualified nigger out. I really don't mind going to school with 111 00:12:06.100 --> 00:12:10.940 them here but I think all this is silly to have to take all this much trouble to enroll two people 112 00:12:10.940 --> 00:12:15.260 to go to school. We know that it's coming so we may as well accept it. That's the way I feel. 113 00:12:15.820 --> 00:12:23.160 Good evening my fellow citizens. This afternoon following a series of threats and defiant 114 00:12:23.160 --> 00:12:29.380 statements, the presence of Alabama National Guardsmen was required on the University of 115 00:12:29.380 --> 00:12:35.740 Alabama to carry out the final and unequivocal order of the United States District Court 116 00:12:35.740 --> 00:12:43.000 of the Northern District of Alabama. That order called for the admission of two clearly qualified 117 00:12:43.000 --> 00:12:49.460 young Alabama residents who happen to have been born Negro. That they were admitted peacefully 118 00:12:49.460 --> 00:12:55.000 on the campus is due in good measure to the conduct of the students of the University of Alabama 119 00:12:55.560 --> 00:13:02.640 who met their responsibilities in a constructive way. The fires of frustration and discord are 120 00:13:02.640 --> 00:13:10.020 burning in every city, north and south, where legal remedies are not at hand. Redress is sought 121 00:13:10.020 --> 00:13:18.100 in the streets in demonstrations, parades, and protests which create tensions and threaten violence 122 00:13:18.100 --> 00:13:23.680 and threaten lives. We face therefore a moral crisis as a country and a people. 123 00:13:24.260 --> 00:13:30.500 It cannot be met by repressive police action. It cannot be left to increase demonstrations 124 00:13:30.500 --> 00:13:37.700 in the streets. It cannot be quieted by token moves or talk. It is a time to act 125 00:13:38.460 --> 00:13:45.240 in the Congress, in your state, and local legislative body, and above all in all of our 126 00:13:45.240 --> 00:13:51.760 daily lives. It is not enough to pin the blame on others to say this is a problem of one section of 127 00:13:51.760 --> 00:13:59.740 the country or another or to pour the facts that we face. A great change is at hand and our task, 128 00:14:00.600 --> 00:14:06.860 our obligation is to make that revolution, that change, peaceful and constructive for all.