Dialog, UA Faculty and Staff News

Planning Underway to Mark 40th Anniversary of Desegregation at UA

George Wallace, stand in schoolhouse door, 1963

Governor George Wallace "stood in the schoolhouse door" in 1963. (Photo courtesy The Birmingham News)

Throughout 2003, The University of Alabama will reflect upon and celebrate, through a series of presentations and events, the 40th anniversary of the first successful enrollment of African-American students at the University.

On June 9-11, a three-day program, known as "Opening Doors," will commemorate the events of June 11, 1963, when Vivian Malone (now Vivian Malone Jones) and James Hood enrolled at UA following then Gov. George Wallace's famous "stand in the schoolhouse door." Wallace stood in the doorway of Foster Auditorium to block the two students' entrance, but stepped aside following a confrontation with federal authorities.

Current plans to mark the 40th anniversary of this historic day call for a dinner, with a nationally known speaker, on Tuesday, June 10. Other events are expected to include an evening reception on June 9 and children's programs, an informal community dinner, and a culminating candlelight vigil at Foster Auditorium on June 11.

"The events being planned seek to salute the courage of those individuals who took a stand for change and inspire all of us to do likewise in addressing the critical issues that face our communities today," said Samory Pruitt, assistant to the president for corporate and community affairs and chair of the planning committee for "Opening Doors."

Planning committee members include James P. Adams Jr., Carl L. Bacon, Katie Boyd, Cynthia W. Burton, Cornelius Carter, E. Culpepper Clark, Kathleen P. Cramer, Janet L. Griffith, Calvin Harkness, Emily C. Jamison, Hank A. Lazer, Steve Kent Miller, Amilcar Shabazz, Jane B. Stanfield, William L. Taylor, Cleophus Thomas Jr., Nikki Tucker, Pat Whetstone and Gwendolyn Stewart Williams.

Advisory members are Autherine Lucy Foster, James Hood, Vivian Malone Jones, Dr. John L. Blackburn (UA dean of men in 1963), Artur Davis, Bert Jones, Willie Clyde Jones and Charles Steele Jr.

Watch for updated information on 40th anniversary plans on the Web at www.ua.edu/openingdoors and in future issues of Dialog.