Vivian Malone Jones
Vivian Juanita Malone Jones (July 15, 1942, in Mobile, Alabama – October 13, 2005 in Atlanta, Georgia) was an African-American woman, one of the first two African Americans to enroll at the University of Alabama in 1963 and was made famous when Alabama Governor George Wallace blocked them from enrolling at the all-white university.[1]
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[edit] University of Alabama
On June 11, 1963, in a ceremonial demonstration, Governor Wallace stood in front of the university's Foster Auditorium and delivered a short speech in support of state sovereignty. Malone arrived to pay her fees, accompanied by James Hood and United States Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach. Wallace, backed by state troopers, refused them entry. President John F. Kennedy nationalized the Alabama National Guard later the same day, which put them under the command of the President, rather than the Governor of Alabama. Guardsmen escorted Malone and Hood back to the auditorium, where Wallace moved aside at the request of General Henry Graham. Malone and Hood then entered the building, albeit through another door.[2] Two years later, she received a Bachelor of Arts in business management and joined the civil rights division of the U.S. Department of Justice.[3]
[edit] Later life
In 1996, she retired as director of civil rights and urban affairs and director of environmental justice for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In October 1996, she was chosen by the George Wallace Family Foundation to be the first recipient of its Lurleen B. Wallace Award of Courage. At the ceremony, Wallace said, "Vivian Malone Jones was at the center of the fight over states' rights and conducted herself with grace, strength and, above all, courage." In 2000, the University of Alabama bestowed on her a doctorate of humane letters.
[edit] Death
Jones died of stroke complications at the age of 63. Her funeral services were held at the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse College. She was married to Mack Jones, a physician, who died in 2004. She is survived by a son, a daughter, three grandchildren, four sisters and three brothers. She was a faithful member of From the Heart Church Ministries of Atlanta where she served as an usher. Her brother-in-law was Eric Holder, the current U.S. Attorney General. Her nephew Jeff Malone was an All-America basketball student-athlete at Mississippi State and NBA standout for many years.
[edit] In popular culture
- Malone is portrayed in a scene from the film Forrest Gump where the University of Alabama is desegregated. Jones walks toward the school door and drops her book, but she apparently does not notice. Forrest Gump sees this and picks it up and gives it to her, and then proceeds to follow her into the school.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Blaustein, Albert P. (1991), Civil Rights and African Americans: A Documentary History, Northwestern University Press, pp. 483, ISBN 0810109204
- ^ Alabama segregation date approaches, USA Today, 2003-06-08, http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2003-06-08-alabama-segregation_x.htm, retrieved 2007-11-23
- ^ Civil rights pioneer Vivian Jones dies, USA Today, 2005-10-13, http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-10-13-jonesobit_x.htm, retrieved 2007-11-23
[edit] External links
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