James Hood dies; defied segregation at U. of Ala.
In this June 9, 1963 file photo, James A. Hood and Vivian J. Malone of Alabama pose in New York. / File,AP Photo/John Lindsay
MONTGOMERY, Ala. One of the first black students who enrolled at the University of Alabama a half century ago in defiance of racial segregation has died. James Hood of Gadsden was 70.
Officials at Adams-Buggs Funeral Home in Gadsden said they are handling arrangements for Hood, who died Thursday.
Then-Alabama Gov. George Wallace made his infamous "stand in the schoolhouse door" in a failed effort to prevent Hood and Vivian Malone from registering for classes at the university in 1963.
Hood and Malone were accompanied by Deputy U.S. Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach when they were confronted by Wallace as they attempted to enter the university's Foster Auditorium to register for classes and pay fees.
Wallace backed down later that day and Hood and Malone registered for classes.
UA President Judy Bonner remembered Hood as a man of "courage and conviction" for being one of the first black students to enroll at the university.
"His connection to the university continued decades later when he returned to UA to earn his doctorate in 1997. He was a valued member of The University of Alabama community, and he will be missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time," Bonner said.
Hood was the last survivor among the major figures in the schoolhouse door incident. Wallace died in 1998, Vivian Malone Jones in 2005 and Katzenbach last year.
After enrolling, Hood remained at UA for a few months and moved to Michigan, where he received a bachelor's degree from Wayne State University and a master's degree from Michigan State.
He later moved to Wisconsin, where he worked at the Madison Area Technical College for 26 years. He retired in 2002 as chairman of public safety services in charge of police and fire training.
He finally returned to UA later in life to earn his doctorate.
Culpepper Clark, author of "The Schoolhouse Door: Segregation's Last Stand at the University of Alabama," called the schoolhouse door incident "an iconic moment" in the Civil Rights Movement because it provided a confrontation between Wallace and the Kennedy administration. He said the incident was "symbolically important" and helped lead to passage of the Voting Rights Act.
Clark described Hood as a man with a lot of "intellectual energy" who understood the importance of what he did at the University of Alabama in 1963.
"He didn't try to make it into more than what it was," Clark said.
The Rev. Preston Nix grew up in Etowah County and said he knew of Hood, who was several years older than he.
Nix said it took a lot of courage for Hood to challenge the segregation at the University of Alabama in 1963.
Nix said he felt Hood did what he did partly to "pave the way" for others to be able to improve themselves and get a higher education and partly because he wanted to attend the University of Alabama.
Samory Pruitt, vice president for community affairs at UA, agreed with Nix.
"Because of what he did, people like me were afforded the opportunity to go to the University of Alabama," said Pruitt, who is black. "I think it's about people having the opportunity to be the best they can be."
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But I think it's time to once again try to set the record straight. George Wallace and the Kennedy administration both knew that James Hood and Vivian Malone were going to be register and be admitted to the University of Alabama no matter what anyone said or did. And both wanted to avoid the violence that had taken place in other such situations. As a matter of fact the KKK was planning a violent protest on campus that day. So, even though they disagreed over the issue of Federal Supremacy over States Rights, in this situation, they agreed to work together to avoid bloodshed.
I am shocked that the writer of the article was so unaware of the historical facts that he or she wrote of George Wallace's "failed effort to prevent Hood and Vivian Malone from registering for classes at the university in 1963." If you read the Kennedy administration's accounts of the day, you will find that the entire even was carefully orchestrated. Governor Wallace never intended to prevent the registration, because he new in advance that he couldn't, even if he wanted to, and had agreed to exactly how the day would play out. He had worked with the Administration, particularly Robert Kennedy, in coming up with a way that he could stand up for "States Rights" and present Alabama's stand on the 10th Amendment, and the Kennedy administration could stand up for "Federal Supremacy" in enforcing Civil Rights Laws. Both sides had their say, and then at the prearranged time, Governor Wallace stepped aside. And most importantly, by announcing his planned "stand in the schoolhouse door" Wallace was able to convince the Klan and other radical groups, to stay away and let him do his job as governor with out their interference,
And so, by working together President Kennedy and Governor Wallace avoided what could have been a horrible, violent tragedy. All of this was made public well over 40 years ago. Why does the press still promote the prejudiced idea of the redneck Alabama Governor standing in the door to keep blacks out, instead of the positive (and true) story of two political leaders on different sides of a extremely volatile issue, working together to achieve the best possible outcome?
God Bless America.
God Bless America.