Two African American students, Vivian Malone and James A. Hood, at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa on June 11, 1963, after federalized Alabama National Guard troops force Alabama Governor George Wallace to halt his blockade and submit to a judge鈥檚 order ending segregation at the university.
George Wallace, one of the most controversial politicians in U.S. history, was elected governor of Alabama in 1962 under an ultra-segregationist platform. In his 1963 inaugural address, he promised his white followers: 鈥淪egregation now! Segregation tomorrow! Segregation forever!鈥 When African American students attempted to desegregate the University of Alabama in June 1963, Alabama鈥檚 new governor, flanked by state troopers, literally blocked the door of the enrollment office. The U.S. Supreme Court, however, had declared segregation unconstitutional in 1954鈥檚 Brown v. Board of Education, and the executive branch undertook aggressive tactics to enforce the ruling.
On June 10, 1963, President John F. Kennedy federalized National Guard troops and deployed them to the University of Alabama to force its desegregation. The next day, Governor Wallace yielded to the federal pressure, and Malone and Hood were able to complete their enrollments.. In September of the same year, Wallace again attempted to block the desegregation of an Alabama public school鈥攖his time Tuskegee High School鈥攂ut President Kennedy once again employed his executive authority and federalized National Guard troops. Wallace had little choice but to yield.
