Vivian Malone Jones
Encyclopedia
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
– October 13, 2005 in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
) was an African-American woman, one of the first two African Americans to enroll at the University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
in 1963 and was made famous when Alabama Governor George Wallace
George Wallace
George Corley Wallace, Jr. was the 45th Governor of Alabama, serving four terms: 1963–1967, 1971–1979 and 1983–1987. "The most influential loser" in 20th-century U.S. politics, according to biographers Dan T. Carter and Stephan Lesher, he ran for U.S...
blocked them from enrolling
Stand in the Schoolhouse Door
The Stand in the Schoolhouse Door took place at Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama on June 11, 1963. George Wallace, the Governor of Alabama, in a symbolic attempt to keep his inaugural promise of "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever" and stop the desegregation of...
at the all-white university.
University of Alabama
On June 11, 1963, in a ceremonial demonstration, Governor Wallace stood in front of the university's Foster AuditoriumFoster Auditorium
Foster Auditorium is a multi-purpose facility at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. It was built in 1939 and has been used for Alabama basketball, women's sports , graduations, lectures, concerts, and other large gatherings, including registration...
and delivered a short speech in support of state sovereignty
States' rights
States' rights in U.S. politics refers to political powers reserved for the U.S. state governments rather than the federal government. It is often considered a loaded term because of its use in opposition to federally mandated racial desegregation...
. Malone arrived to pay her fees, accompanied by James Hood
James Hood
James Hood was one of the first African Americans to enroll at the University of Alabama in 1963 and was made famous when Alabama Governor George Wallace blocked him from enrolling at the all-white university....
and United States Deputy Attorney General
United States Deputy Attorney General
United States Deputy Attorney General is the second-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice. In the United States federal government, the Deputy Attorney General oversees the day-to-day operation of the Department of Justice, and may act as Attorney General during the...
Nicholas Katzenbach
Nicholas Katzenbach
Nicholas deBelleville Katzenbach is an American lawyer who served as United States Attorney General during the Lyndon B. Johnson administration.-Early life:...
. Wallace, backed by state troopers, refused them entry. President Kennedy nationalized the Alabama National Guard
Alabama National Guard
The Alabama National Guard comprises both Army and Air components. The Guard is part of the Alabama Military Department, seemingly overseen by the Adjutant General of Alabama....
later the day on the same, 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
Henry Graham (General)
Henry Vance Graham was a National Guard general who protected black activists during the Civil rights era...
. Malone and Hood then entered the building, albeit through another door. Two years later, she received a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in business management and joined the civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
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.Death
Jones died of strokeStroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
complications at the age of 63. Her funeral services were held at the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse College
Morehouse College
Morehouse College is a private, all-male, liberal arts, historically black college located in Atlanta, Georgia. Along with Hampden-Sydney College and Wabash College, Morehouse is one of three remaining traditional men's colleges in the United States....
. 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
Eric Holder
Eric Himpton Holder, Jr. is the 82nd and current Attorney General of the United States and the first African American to hold the position, serving under President Barack Obama....
, 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.
In popular culture
- Jones is portrayed in a scene from the film Forrest GumpForrest GumpForrest Gump is a 1994 American epic comedy-drama romance film based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis, starring Tom Hanks, Robin Wright and Gary Sinise...
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.
See also
- Stand in the Schoolhouse DoorStand in the Schoolhouse DoorThe Stand in the Schoolhouse Door took place at Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama on June 11, 1963. George Wallace, the Governor of Alabama, in a symbolic attempt to keep his inaugural promise of "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever" and stop the desegregation of...
- The McDonogh ThreeThe McDonogh ThreeThe McDonogh Three were three young African American girls who integrated McDonogh No. 19 Elementary School in New Orleans in 1960.Leona Tate, Tessie Prevost, and Gail Etienne were among five girls who had passed an admission test devised by the Orleans Parish School Board to find black girls...
- Little Rock NineLittle Rock NineThe Little Rock Nine was a group of African-American students who were enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957. The ensuing Little Rock Crisis, in which the students were initially prevented from entering the racially segregated school by Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus, and then...
- James MeredithJames MeredithJames H. Meredith is an American civil rights movement figure, a writer, and a political adviser. In 1962, he was the first African American student admitted to the segregated University of Mississippi, an event that was a flashpoint in the American civil rights movement. Motivated by President...