Okla-homey
6/11/2008, 06:31 AM
June 11, 1963: George Wallace squares off with JFK and Wallace backs down
http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/8917/wars200249sz3.jpg
45 years ago on this day in 1963, President John F. Kennedy issues presidential proclamation 3542, forcing Alabama Governor George Wallace to comply with federal court orders allowing two black students to register for the summer session at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
The proclamation ordered Wallace and “all persons acting in concert with him” to “cease and desist” from obstructing justice.
The battle between Kennedy and Wallace brought to a head the long, post-Civil War struggle between the federal government and recalcitrant southern states over the enforcement of federal desegregation laws. Kennedy, a Catholic, considered racial segregation “morally wrong.”
As of 1963, Alabama was the only state that had not integrated its education system. Mind you, Brown v. Board of Education had been decided nine years earlier in 1954. That case held public school racial segregation was unconstitutional because it denied black folks equal protection under the law.
http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/3962/wallacecomic201kx2.png
Page from the "comic book" style gubernatorial campaign brochure Wallace produced in the 60's.
From the time of his gubernatorial campaign in 1962 until this day in 1963, Wallace had boldly proclaimed that he would personally stand in front of the door of any Alabama schoolhouse that was ordered by the federal courts to admit black students.
“ In the name of the greatest people that have ever trod this earth, I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny, and I say segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever."
-- George Wallace inaugural speech. 1962
In response to Wallace’s rhetoric, Kennedy sent his brother, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, on April 25 to negotiate with Wallace; the talks failed. The Kennedy brothers, having decided that they were dealing with a “raving maniac,” looked for an indirect solution. JFK appealed to Alabama business leaders and influential politicians to talk sense into Wallace.
On May 21 and again on June 5, the U.S. district court ordered Wallace to allow the students to register on June 11. Wallace dug in and refused, hoping to force JFK to call up the National Guard, an act Wallace was sure would infuriate staunch "states’ rights" supporters and paint JFK as a tyrant.
http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/3563/wageorgewallacepp0.jpg
George Wallace. Five term governor of Alabama
Please note, historically, "states rights" as a political proposition has chiefly been code for subjugation/enslavement of black folks -- or some other shady doings. Thus, when the term is trotted out in defense of some states' perogative to maintain a status quo or enforce its law, you can usually peel back the covers and find some dirty deed that state is trying to keep on the down low.
Bobby Kennedy wanted his brother to go ahead and federalize the Alabama National Guard and arrest Wallace, but the president feared that such an action would play into Wallace’s hands. So, the president waited for Wallace to make the first move.
http://img112.imageshack.us/img112/7016/waimage558190xfo8.jpg
Governor Wallace flanked by Alabama State Troopers.
On the morning of June 11, the day the students were expected to register, Wallace stood in front of the University of Alabama campus auditorium flanked by Alabama state troopers while cameras flashed and recorders from the press corps whirred. Kennedy, at the White House, and Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach, in Tuscaloosa, kept in touch by phone.
When Wallace refused to let the students enter for registration, Katzenbach phoned Kennedy. Kennedy upped the pressure on Wallace, immediately issuing Presidential Proclamation 3542, which ordered the governor to comply, and authorizing the Secretary of Defense to federalize the Alabama National Guard with Executive Order 11111.
That afternoon, Katzenbach returned with the students and asked Wallace to step aside. Wallace, knowing he was beaten, relented, having saved face with his hard-line, anti-segregation "states' rights" constituency.
Postscript:
Wallace became a Christian in the late 1970s and apologized for his earlier segregationist views to black civil rights leaders. He said while he once sought power and glory, he realized he needed to seek love and forgiveness. His term as Governor (1983–1987) saw a record number of black appointments to government positions.
http://img112.imageshack.us/img112/8104/waphotowallacehs0.jpg
At the end of his life, Wallace asked Alabama's black folks' forgiveness, and most freely gave it.
A black lawyer recalls, "Judge George Wallace was the most liberal judge that I had ever practiced law in front of. He was the first judge in Alabama to call me 'Mister' in a courtroom." Later, when a supporter asked why he started using racist messages, Wallace replied,
"You know, I tried to talk about good roads and good schools and all these things that have been part of my career, and nobody listened. And then I began talking about n---ers, and they stomped the floor."
http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/8917/wars200249sz3.jpg
45 years ago on this day in 1963, President John F. Kennedy issues presidential proclamation 3542, forcing Alabama Governor George Wallace to comply with federal court orders allowing two black students to register for the summer session at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
The proclamation ordered Wallace and “all persons acting in concert with him” to “cease and desist” from obstructing justice.
The battle between Kennedy and Wallace brought to a head the long, post-Civil War struggle between the federal government and recalcitrant southern states over the enforcement of federal desegregation laws. Kennedy, a Catholic, considered racial segregation “morally wrong.”
As of 1963, Alabama was the only state that had not integrated its education system. Mind you, Brown v. Board of Education had been decided nine years earlier in 1954. That case held public school racial segregation was unconstitutional because it denied black folks equal protection under the law.
http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/3962/wallacecomic201kx2.png
Page from the "comic book" style gubernatorial campaign brochure Wallace produced in the 60's.
From the time of his gubernatorial campaign in 1962 until this day in 1963, Wallace had boldly proclaimed that he would personally stand in front of the door of any Alabama schoolhouse that was ordered by the federal courts to admit black students.
“ In the name of the greatest people that have ever trod this earth, I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny, and I say segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever."
-- George Wallace inaugural speech. 1962
In response to Wallace’s rhetoric, Kennedy sent his brother, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, on April 25 to negotiate with Wallace; the talks failed. The Kennedy brothers, having decided that they were dealing with a “raving maniac,” looked for an indirect solution. JFK appealed to Alabama business leaders and influential politicians to talk sense into Wallace.
On May 21 and again on June 5, the U.S. district court ordered Wallace to allow the students to register on June 11. Wallace dug in and refused, hoping to force JFK to call up the National Guard, an act Wallace was sure would infuriate staunch "states’ rights" supporters and paint JFK as a tyrant.
http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/3563/wageorgewallacepp0.jpg
George Wallace. Five term governor of Alabama
Please note, historically, "states rights" as a political proposition has chiefly been code for subjugation/enslavement of black folks -- or some other shady doings. Thus, when the term is trotted out in defense of some states' perogative to maintain a status quo or enforce its law, you can usually peel back the covers and find some dirty deed that state is trying to keep on the down low.
Bobby Kennedy wanted his brother to go ahead and federalize the Alabama National Guard and arrest Wallace, but the president feared that such an action would play into Wallace’s hands. So, the president waited for Wallace to make the first move.
http://img112.imageshack.us/img112/7016/waimage558190xfo8.jpg
Governor Wallace flanked by Alabama State Troopers.
On the morning of June 11, the day the students were expected to register, Wallace stood in front of the University of Alabama campus auditorium flanked by Alabama state troopers while cameras flashed and recorders from the press corps whirred. Kennedy, at the White House, and Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach, in Tuscaloosa, kept in touch by phone.
When Wallace refused to let the students enter for registration, Katzenbach phoned Kennedy. Kennedy upped the pressure on Wallace, immediately issuing Presidential Proclamation 3542, which ordered the governor to comply, and authorizing the Secretary of Defense to federalize the Alabama National Guard with Executive Order 11111.
That afternoon, Katzenbach returned with the students and asked Wallace to step aside. Wallace, knowing he was beaten, relented, having saved face with his hard-line, anti-segregation "states' rights" constituency.
Postscript:
Wallace became a Christian in the late 1970s and apologized for his earlier segregationist views to black civil rights leaders. He said while he once sought power and glory, he realized he needed to seek love and forgiveness. His term as Governor (1983–1987) saw a record number of black appointments to government positions.
http://img112.imageshack.us/img112/8104/waphotowallacehs0.jpg
At the end of his life, Wallace asked Alabama's black folks' forgiveness, and most freely gave it.
A black lawyer recalls, "Judge George Wallace was the most liberal judge that I had ever practiced law in front of. He was the first judge in Alabama to call me 'Mister' in a courtroom." Later, when a supporter asked why he started using racist messages, Wallace replied,
"You know, I tried to talk about good roads and good schools and all these things that have been part of my career, and nobody listened. And then I began talking about n---ers, and they stomped the floor."