Lewis discuss the life and legacy of wallace. They look at whether political concerns or racism motivated wallace to oppose integration. This event took place at the Birmingham Public Library in birmingham, alabama. Its about 90 minutes. In birmingham, they love the governor. This line from Lynyrd Skynyrds 1974 song sweet home alabama may be one of the most debated lines from one of the most debated songs in american music. George wallace was so taken with the song when he first heard it that he planned to issue a special gubernatorial citation to lynyrd skynyrd. But then one of the governors aides suggest he listen more closely to the line that follows in birmingham they love the governor. The next line anybody remember . Boo, boo, boo. Sung by a group of female africanamerican backup singers. Including, by the way, the great mary clayton who originated the role of the acid queen in the wh whos tommy. That has nothing to do with what were talking about tonight. I just think thats a cool fact. So they never got this citation from the governor. We have chosen this line as the title of our program tonight because it is like the legacy of George Wallace debated and still relevant in the 21st century america. We are fortunate to have three respected and accomplished scholars with us tonight to explore the role of George Wallace in birmingham civil rights struggle and the legacy of wallace in our politics and culture today. Our first speaker will be dan t. Carter. He has served as professor and visiting scholar at emory university, university of maryland, university of wisconsin, londons westminster university, cambridge university, university of genera and the university of south carolina. His book, scottsboro won the prize and the smith book award. He is the author of the highly regarded biography the politics of rage George Wallace, the origins of the new conservatism and the transformation of american politics. Our second speaker will be dr. Glen t. Eskew. He is professor of history at Georgia State university. Birmingham native. He is author of the book but for birmingham the local and National Movements in the civil rights struggle, which received the Frances Butler simkins prize at the Southern Historical association, and he aauthor of the forthcoming book Johnny Mercer southern songwriter for the world. For the past several years, dr. Eskew has served as lecturer and faculty director for annual neh funded teacher workshops on teaching the history of the Civil Rights Movement. Our final speaker this evening will be dr. Angela k. Lewis, professor of Political Science in the department of government at the university of alabama at birmingham. She is author of the new book conservatism in the black community, to the right and misunderstood. And awards will be forthcoming. Also a native of birmingham, dr. Lewis is a regular political analyst for cox radio and alabama public radio and works with the organization am ba bam s alabama citizens for constitutional reform. Please join me in welcoming dr. Dan carter. Thank you very much, jim. Im sure most of you here are aware of what an extraordinary resource and the rare one is the Birmingham Public Library and the archives here. Unfortunately, libraries across the country are losing the kind of resources to local history and for national history, and were fortunate to have such an extraordinary facility here in birmingham. I hope youre proud of it. You should be. When i sat down to write a biography of George Wallace, i was taken with the words of the english biographer james basel as he wrote to his friend samuel johnson. Hearts are concealed, but their actions are open to scrutiny. I still believe that. We can never know with certainty the inner thoughts, the feelings of individuals, but i do think we can infer motivation from action. And so id like to talk briefly about the role of George Wallace and the events that stretched from january of 1963 through the 16th street bombing. What George Wallace did and why he acted as he did. I hope these brief reflections will tell us something about him and about the larger story of that critical year in the history of birmingham and the history of our nation. As all of us well know, George Wallace began the year in 1963 with his inaugural address in which he promised segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever. And at the same time, reaffirmed his Campaign Commitment to stand in the schoolhouse door to resist federally mandated integration. Wallace was no novice when it came to managing the media as he began his governorship. But he was most focused on his forthcoming confrontation to the Kennedy Administration over his promise to stand in the schoolhouse door. This was an event that he could control, and he did so with extraordinary skill. In part, because it was always, for governor wallace, a political chess match that gave him a kind of distance, i think, emotionally from what was going on. Privately, he concluded that it would be a mistake to let events slip out of control and lead to a repeat of the rights and bloodshed of ole miss the previous fall. And so he used his close contacts with a plan and other violent routes to persuade them to fall back and let him take the lead. But to use a cliche, he kept his cards close to his chest. Only his very closest advisers knew his plans. And publicly, he kept a frustrated Robert John Kennedy guessing about what he might do, even hinting at times that he would support armed resistance to desegregation. Nevertheless, while the negotiations were stilted and frustrating to the president and attorney general robert kennedy, whatever wallace and his close supporters said privately, they were scrupulously polite in public comments. Meeting with attorney general kennedy in may of 1963, ive heard the tape of that meeting, and it was contentious, often angry, intense, but as soon as they stepped outside for a press conference, the governor was very sole in graciousness, explaining how he had welcomed the attorney general to alabama, the hospitality state, and he was always welcomed back. For George Wallace, it was great fun. Like a highlevel poker game in which he ultimately held the high cards as he carefully choreographed the upcoming confrontation. Governor wallace did not anticipate and, in fact, was initially surprised by the boycott and demonstrations that rocked birmingham beginning that april. He was even more surprised by their growing intensity in a world they publicly engendered. And birmingham was quite different than to stand in the schoolhouse door. Not least because governor wallace was never the ringmaster. Martin luther king, greg shuttlesworth, wyatt t. Walker, james bell and other black activists set the activists set the agenda in Alabama State and birmingham officials could only react. It was not meaning the governor was aloof from events. He in fact followed those very closely. He was personally in almost daily contact with mayor arch hanes and his later successor, disputed successor, albert backel. His constantly issued statements were hardly marked by public respect. When the socalled childrens crusade began, thousands of young black birmingham youth poured into streets, the governor went before the legislator in special address, after repeating his promise to stand in the schoolhouse door, the bulk of his remarks interrupted 21 times by ovations, three times by standing ovations, the bummilk his reta,s bitter attacks by birmingham demonstrators who he described as various points agitators, integrationists, communists who were insent on destroying the freedom and liberty of americans everywhere. Make no mistake, he told lawmaker it, was the communists who were in charge. Everyone knew the demonstrations were communistinspired and communistled. If any deaths occurred, he said through a standing ovation, he would urge Jefferson County grand jury to indict demonstration leaders for murder. Equally critical was the governors unqualified support for outgoing mayor hanes who had called the white businessmen involved in negotiating with the demonstrators a bunch of quizlingly, gutless traitors and publicly expressed his disagreement with the assessment and added the socalled biracial group of appeaser have no business meeting with mobsters, like Martin Luther king, let alone to presuming to negotiate any kind of settlement. And of course there was carter who he also supported without equivocation. The same bull conner he told ahead of time there was going to be a bombing at the gaston motel where Martin Luther king was staying responded, let them blow him up. He was not, he said, pardon my language, going to protect that niggers. O. B. , and he didnt use the abbreviation for s. O. B. Governor wallace used every possible opportunity to support the most recalcitrant forces in alabama. The contrast how governor wallace dealt with the Kennedy Administration, in his words and actions towards demonstrations, its not really that hard to explain. A matter of quite different politics of the two situations. For the most part, he was, as i said the ringmaster of the confrontation of the kennedys and knew the last thing that the president , his brother wanted was a repeat of ole miss. That gave him all the leverage he needed to lay out what became ultimately the stand in the schoolhouse door, but as i said he had no control over events in birmingham. As he confronted thousands of young people willing to put their bodies on the line. Now, he continued in talking about the demonstrations, he continued the same reverence in the same months leading up to the 16th street bombing, i think urging violence, supporting groups with attempted to prevent integration of the birmingham schools, and publicly and i do mean publicly embracing some of the most repellent individuals in the beastiary of violence, including the neonazis. And i cant help but keep thinking of his comments just four days before the bombing when he told a reporter, this society is coming apart the at the seams. What this country needs is a few firstclass funerals. Or his private comments afterwards in which he suggested the bombing might well have been the work of blacks intent on provoking violence or sabotage of the original case against the bombers, making it much more difficult for the fbi to bring charges against them. Now this was the same George Wallace who had served dill gently on the Tuskegee University board of trustees in the early 1950s, the same George Wallace who had been the first judge in alabama using courtesy titles to referring to black clients in his court, the same wallace who sought the governship in 1958 by attacking the ku klux klan and promising his followers to treat everyone with equal Justice Without regard for race. Of course, in part submission to the political winds of racism, having lost in 1958 he famously complained that his opponent, John Patterson, had, quote, outniggered me and ill never be outniggerred again. It reflects something more, a deep and authentic anger over the assertiveness of black southerns. That sense George Wallaces anger and his lack of any kind of balance reflects that of whites of what moderate positions. They were willing to move, and George Wallace had shown early he was toward some kind of more just society but always at their pace. I was a reporter in the late 1950s and even before the events in birmingham i can still recall the sense of hurt and betrayal by white moderates who felt they were trying to do the right thing but negros who should be grateful, they just wouldnt wait. They wouldnt let them set the timetable. If they were frustrated, most whites, even whites who considered themselves people of goodwill, were furious. These people should be grateful to us. Instead, theyre sabotaging them. Its fascinating to read the transcript of a meeting of prominent Birmingham Business Community President kennedy in may of 1963 in which he tries to reprimand him to get them to do something and they just light into it. You dont understand, were the moderates, were the liberals, and we cant let these demonstrators set the terms of the settlement. It was a sense of betrayal. George wallace, in 1963, was running, his president ial aspirations come shortly afterwards. All of this made him enormously popular in the state. And events from 1963 onward, the war in vietnam, the antiwar movement, what we might call the rise of the counterculture, pornography, sex, all of these things, along with the race riot of 1960s, fight of the 1960s suddenly transformed George Wallace into a national figure, and he ended up, of course, running an extraordinarily successful, not finally but ultimately given his background, Extraordinary Campaign in 1968 in which at one point 28 of the American People said they supported George Wallace for president. Nevertheless, he was always limited of what happened in 1963. No one could ever erase from their minds his actions, his words, and the events of 1963. It always placed a cap on what he in what he could accomplish as a national politician. So i do think, in many ways, what George Wallace, what he said, how he felt, accurately, as it often did, reflected the views of most white house venues and thats a tragedy, of course. Maybe not that fervently, but it was there. So now we sit, 50 years later, what should we remember about these events . Ive tried to suggest that these parochial happenings which marked the triumph off the Civil Rights Movement also led to the rise of a reaction that continues until today. The professions commitment to presenting the commitment of the past as truthfully as possible, but i also share the view of the russian novelist, history, worth wright or reading, shout ultimately lead to some form of moral reflection. At its best, conversation with the past can do more than inform us about what people have said and done. It can help us think about how we should do. And as ive grown older, thats a point of view that has grown stronger. So what do we learn . In answering that question everyone must be their own historian. I can only give you my point of view. And to me, among the many threads that reach backwards beyond 1963 and far until the day when one keeps recurring, and that is the tendency, even the need to divide ourselves between us and them, the worthy and unworthy. It takes many forms. Race, certainly the predominant one in the 1960s. But theres a broader and darker part of the nations history. The tendency to mark out not only africanamericans, but others as somehow unworthy of Human Dignity and worth. Nativeamericans, jews, catholics, rednecks, immigrants, homosexuals. This morning my wife and i were driving over from atlanta and we were in that blank space between atlanta and birmingham, we turned on the radio, and we started listening to christian radio. And i was literally sick to my stomach, as this commentator goes on about the muslims, you know, the muslims. The president is supporting the muslims. The president implicitly is a muslim. The implication being these are people that are horrible, somehow should be expelled from america. Certainly controlled. It takes many forms. And the poor and the isolated as well. At times, i wonder what has what has happened . The mobilization of black and white americans in birmingham evolved into far more than the struggle to buy a hot dog at a lunch counter, even to cast a vote. Those who shaped the fight for civil rights beginning in 1930s used the term beloved Community Without the italics environment. How naive they may seem in retrospect. They held up a vision of an america free from fearlessness, marked by compassion and committed to genuine opportunity for those who live in an iron cage of poverty and social isolation. Above all, they fought against what seems to be our national compulsion, as ive said to divide ourselves between the true american and the other. Given that history, it is difficult to retain some remnant of opposition in a world of violence and a nation divided in one of the most fundamental levels. More and more the goals that inspired me in the 1960s seem like mirages, in an endless desert of selfinterest and greed in which were contem tuous of the notion of Community Shared battles of a community, as i said, dedicated to protecting worth and dignity of every person. And then i remember an essay by a leading scholar of modern buddhism in the 1980s. She visited a group of tibetan monks whose monastery had been destroyed by the chinese government. They begun rebuilding the 1200yearold monastery. The reconstruction with such limited resources was overwhelming and what if the chinese should simply return again with their bulldozers, she asked the monks . They shrugged, macy saw that such calculations were injection to the monks. Since you cannot see into the future, you simply proceed to put one stone on top of the other and another on top of that. If the stones get knocked down, you begin again. Because if you dont, nothing will ever get built. Thank you very much. Thank you. Good evening. Good evening. I am happy to be here on the pan toll discuss the 50th anniversary of the events in birmingham as they relate to governor wallace. Id like to thank mr. Saul kimberly for making this possible. The story of birminghams spring 1963 civil rights demonstrations is well known. But often overlooked is the role played by governor george c. Wallace during the protests. Alabamas most famous and powerful segregationist did not sit idly by while the world watched the activists confronting brutality in the street. He intervened and upstaged the morality play in birmingham, once of his own drama in tuskeg tuscaloosa but bigger actors waiting in the wings and stole the show. The birminghams modern Civil Rights Movement date to 1956 when the reverend shuttles worth organized the rights out of alabama over the montgomery busboy cot and the attempt to desegregate the university. Because shuttles worth used direction action his organization attracted a small, but loyal group of deeply religious activists who firmly believed that god would help them end segregation, their fanaticism enabled them to face down the violence of night bombings and mob attacks by vigilantes. When the u. S. Supreme court ruled in the Montgomery Bus Boycott Movement everybody they determined an end to the practices on birminghams buses. The Ku Klux Klansmen bombed the church in parsonage, the dynamite killing pastor and the civil rights leader. The survival became a sign of divine intervention. During the crisis in lilttle rok arkansas a mob targeted shuttles worth and nearly beat him to death. The alabama chris man movement tended to birminghams train station in 1958, the airport in 1959 and tried to access whites only city parks in 1960. When the freedom riders reached birmingham may klanmen beat the nonwhite activists. The commission of Public Safety conner explained his forewas off for mothers day. Into the beach, stepped shuttles worth Whose Movement rescued the stranded black and white activists. The National Condemnation of birmingham following the freedom rides convinced several white businessmen linked to the eme e emerging Service Sector to turn against conner as fractures appeared. Led by local realtor sidney smir the men advocated a change in government that removed conner from office in 1963 but until then bull ran birmingham. On the state level the ku klux klan supported governor John Patterson could not accede himself in office and former opponent george w. Wallace had been dismayed at losing four years before, promising never to be defeated again, by running a racist campaign with klan endorsement he won the highest office. In his inaugural address he thanks the klan by promising segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever, a not so subtle paraphrase of the klans motto. City and State Government aligned in its defense of White Supremacy. In washington, the president had just been burned by the outcome of such fireeating rhetoric. When kennedy entered office he inherited from the Eisenhower Administration a policy of federalism that restrained National Government in its relations with state alocal officials. His predecessor defended School Desegregation in little rock, such action revidevirived cour g rulings. The kennedy went to local authorities not to protect Civil Liberties but to end the violence. When implementing Court Ordered desegregation in the fall of 1962 a mob intent on maintaining White Supremacy. Bushed federal authorities. Following eisenhowers lead, kennedy sent troops to oxford to secure the addition of meredith but drew behind the passive policy of federalism. Frustrated by the slow pace of change, shuttles worth invited to birmingham keen and the southern christian Leadership Conference to join the Alabama Christian Movement and demonstrations. Not having a success since the montgomery bus boycott, king needed a victory to make the sclc viable. Two groups determined not follow albanys strategy of filling the jail but instead target merchants with sitins, picket signs and a boycott to convince the city to repeal the segregation ordinances. April 3, 1963, the Birmingham Campaign began when 20 black men and women asked for service at lunch counters around the Business District. Led by shuttles worth lieutenant abraham and woods, these Movement Members drew on their deep faith that god would protect them in the struggle for race reform. Police arrested the protesters as bull conner demonstrated his commitment to White Supremacy. At a mass meeting, shuttles worth and king announced other demonstrations would follow. The first protest march occurred april 6th, when demonstrators were led to city hall to ask of a previously denied parade permit issued. Local activists deviated from the sit ins that supported a local buying campaign and generate Community Interest in the demonstrations. Police stepped in and arrested the 43 activists. On april 7th, kings brother, reverend a. D. King, headed a column of two dozen out of church and into streets lined with africanamericans. The arrests of the marchers provoked civic unrest among the black bystanders who while not members of the movement identified with the desire for race reform. To control the crowd, officers called up the canine corps. When the black youth flashed a knife at a police dog, the German Shepherd attacked, pinning the young man to the ground, swinging billy clubs and sicking the dogs, officers dispersed the crowd. The National Press reported police brutality. King capitalized on such creative tension by staging future episodes after black buoy standers gathered, but ending them in time for National Film crews to get footage on a plane to new york for the evening news as birmingham became a media event. To stymie the movement, conner received a ruling restraining king and shuttles worth from leading protest marches. The decision to obey a georgia injunction ended the albany campaign. In birmingham the movement de defied state court order. Dressed in blue denim of the working man king, shuttles worth and the reverend abernathy led 50 people past hundreds of black onlookers april 12th. Law enforcement officials ushered the integrationists into paddy wagons. Kings arrest focused attention on birmingham. When asked in washington, president kennedy claimed via federalism he had no Legal Authority to intervene. While National Interests grew during kings eightday incarceration, local support waned. The two weeks had tapped the human and Financial Resources of the Alabama Christian Movement. Once bailed out, king found the Birmingham Campaign on the brink of collapse as only a handful of adults volunteered to demonstrate. Yet, since the beginning of the mass meetings young people had gathered in the fellowship halls for youth activities led by cotton and bubble and reynolds who suggested that students march. King acquiesced out of desperation to generate creative tension and keep the media focused on birmingham. The childrens crusade began on may 2nd, as hundreds of black students skipped school, gathered at movement centers, and embarked on protest marches. Wave after wave of black boys and girls washed down the steps of the Baptist Church in ingram park. The youngsters took conner by surprise. But by the end of the day police crowded 500 black teenagers into cramped jail cells. The nights mass meeting king promised that more marches would happen if the city refused to desegregate. The next morning, may 3rd, bull corn responded with a show of force. He stationed water cannon around the park and sealed off the black Business District from downtown. Attack dogs, strained on their leashes, intimidating black bystanders while onlookers taunted the officers. When the black youth exited the church, conner yelled let them have it, spinning students down the sidewalk and tearing bark off the trees. I want to see the dogs work, barked bull, as the German Shepherds lunged at black crowd, ripping at clothes in search of flesh. Police arrested 7000 people as journalists captured the horrifying spectacle on film. The hoses and the dogs elevated bulls birmingham into a National Symbol of racial oppression. The event provided the lead story for newspapers and Radio Broadcasts around the world just as the footage of the brutal suppression played on nbc, abc, cbs, and Global Television networks. Consequently saturday may 4th, president kennedy identified birmingham as a matter of national and international concern. The media analysis coming in from domestic and Foreign Service suddenly pointed to an american racial crisis. To end the protests and negative pub list si, kennedy sent Burke Marshall to birmingham. Unrestrained, conner rounded another demonstration saturday afternoon by using firehoses to pin protesters into movement centers. Rather than march on sunday, civil rights arcivists held kneelins at white churches. Schoolchildren resumed protesters monday may 6th but corn restrained using force. Classrooms emptied into the streets as Police Arrested more than a thousand black youth. The city turned the stock cade at the State Fair Grounds into a holding pen. For in birmingham, the movement accomplished what it had failed to do in albany. Fill the jail. Movements strategists called may 7th dd day as they coordinated a alarm, nonviolent demonstration designed to shut the city down for weeks, conner kept the protests confined to a black area but the foot soldiers and the nonviolent army bypassed barricades as dozen of picket signs appeared at Major Department stores on 19th street. Hundreds of africanamericans milled about the Office Buildings on 20th street as thousands more occupied 1st avenue flowing down 21st street, stopping traffic. Some knelt in prayer. And birmingham, civil order collapsed. A group of white businessmen convened by citys fire existed the chamber of Commerce Building into the bedlam below only to reconvene and call for negotiation dozen end the demonstrations. Conner incensed he had been outmaneuvered reverted to violence. Highpowered hoses, repulsed schoolchildren as they existed the 16th street Baptist Church paper battle broke out between firemen and the nonviolent protesters in kelly ingram park. In montgomery, governor wallace condemned the nonviolent activists in his opening address before the alabama legislator. The former judge said he was tired of the lawlessness in birmingham and whatever it takes will be done to break it up, to restore law and order, wallace sent his new state commissioner of Public Safety, colonel al lingo and the police force, alabama Highway Patrol to birmingham. Called state troopers dressed in military style uniformed topped by helmets and embossed with confederate battle flags and bearing carbines, sawed off shotguns, machine guns, Law Enforcement officers answered only to wallace through lingo. 250 arrived tuesday afternoon, the governor sent over 600 to the city. These men joined conners police and firemen in patrolling downtown. Temperatures topped 90 degrees as angry black bystanders awaited a protest on wednesday. Army of heavily armed hostile Law Enforcement officers surrounded them. But rather than march on may 8th, Movement Leaders embraced a moratorium designed to allow negotiations to proceed. Over a tense three days, smire and other white businessmen reached a settlement with king and his lieutenants that considered demands for desegregation biracial communication and equal employment. Disliking the ambiguous terms reverend shuttles worth insisted on threat of continued demonstrations but on friday, may 10th, joined civil rights leaders in the a. G. Gaston motel courtyard press Conference Announcing the truce. That night, after a klan rally, vigilantes dynamited the motel and kings brothers house in an effort to assassinate the civil rights leader. The explosions set off a firestorm as enraged africanamericans rioted. They punctured the tires on police cars and set them ablaze hollering, kill em, at officers, and others torched Like Properties in the 28 blocks surrounding the gaston motel, but the wind spread the sparks to black homes, as the flames swirled around like a blast furnace. Shoot to kill, lawless ordered the state troopers who with carbines loaded into the area to break up rioters, chasing people on to porches, tentments, beating them with billy clubs. Finding limngos men incendiary he pleaded with troopers we dont need guns down here. You might get somebody killed. Lingo slapped his automatic, youre adams right it might kill somebody. The fires left a smoldering ruin. Responding to the destruction of property, the president mobilized the armed forces sending soldiers from ft. Bragg to montgomery to be on standby. He urged birmingham citizens to accept the negotiated accord and make outside intervention unnecessary. Smire convinced kennedy not to declare martial law, wallace chafed under the sovereignty represented by the federal occupation. Yet, civil orders spread beyond birmingham. The initial rallies of support in los angeles and new york in april 1963 spawned some 750 demonstrations in nearly 200 cities with the arrests of more than 15,000 protesters across the country. Suddenly, a black rebellion was at hand. The Kennedy Administration was caught off guard. Rather than the Civil Rights Activists in birmingham, the president more concerned with actions of alabamas feisty governor who pledged to stand in the schoolhouse door to stop the federal courts from desegregating the state schools. Kennedy feared another ole miss, and focused attentions on wallace rather than king. Attorney generalobert kennedy compiled the alabama notebook, the documented states corporate ceos to get them to pressure the governor to cool off. Wallace wanted to heat things up, so he stole the scene away from birmingham, by staging an elaborate charade in tuscaloosa. June 11, 1963, he blocked the entrance of Foster Auditorium to prevent africanAmerican Students from entering the university of alabama. The governor choreographed an ela ela elaborate dance, when the nationalized guard forced him to step aside. Wallaces behavior came off looking like a victory for resistance to federal authority despite kennedys successful implementation of the desegregation ruling. The president had had enough. As marshall recognized the threads ran through the events in tuscaloosa, tying them back to birmingham, on june 11, 1963, a global broadcast of television and radio, kennedy said, today we are committed to a worldwide struggle to promote and protect the rights of all who wish to be free. In order to be possible, therefore, for American Students any color to attend any Public Institution they select, without having to be backed up by troops. Birmingham, however, exposed the problems the nation could no longer, quote, prudently ignore, for it revealed the fires of frustration and discord burning in every city, north and south, where legal remedies are not at hand. Redress assault in the streets, demonstrations and parades and protests which create tensions and threaten violence and threaten lives. To stop the confrontations and negative pub lilicity kennedy called for sweeping legislation. June 19th he sent to congress the bill of 1963 that harkined back to reconstruction setting forth legal reforms designed to achieve implementation of the 14th and 15th amendments to the u. S. Constitution and the aborted Civil Rights Act of 1875. To outlaw Racial Discrimination the federal government would enforce compliance with the new laws by regulating interstate commerce and withholding federal funds. The omni bus bill had eight provisions that promoted Voting Rights and School Desegregation, extended the life of the civil rights commission, and advocated equal employment opportunities. Capitalizing on the success of birmingham, civil rights leaders staged a protest march on washington. Kings i have a dream speech fit the demands of kennedys legislation, for it reasoned the need for race reform, like the led from birmingham jail, concluding with faith in the american system. The march on washington under scored the centrality of birmingham as the water shed moment marking a new federal commitment to end over 300 years of legal Racial Discrimination in america. A short two weeks into this emotional high, birmingham brought the nation crashing back down. Rulings from the federal courts resulted in desegregation of several state schools. Governor wallace led the massive resistance. Using colonel lingo and his troopers to prevent black students from entering the schools as white supremist rhetoric resounded across alabama, fomenting racial hatred. Though wallace had stood up to kennedy, he had not stopped the desegregation of the university. And he could not prevent the desegregation of the Elementary Schools when again the for example intervened. So in birmingham, klansmen took measures into their own hands. They set a bomb at 16th street Baptist Church, that went off on sunday, september 15, 1963, taking the lives of four young girls getting ready to participate in the service. And the shocked outrage that followed that day, two other black boys were shot dead in birmingham. The heinous nature of these six murders underscored the depths of depravity of those willing to keep White Supremacy. While the Kennedy Administration had proposed sweeping race reforms with the civil rights bill of 1963, by the fall, a less than aggressive president seeking reelection and afraid of losing the votes of white southerners stood bias segregationists and Congress Stalled his proposal. The november 1963 assassination of president kennedy in dallas renewed the calls for action. Now the unexpected president lynn done b. Johnson pushed the legislation as a tribute to the martyred leader. Quote, no memorial or eulogy could more eloquently honor president kennedys memory than the earliest possible passage of the civil rights bill for which he fought so long. We had talked long enough in this country about equal rights, johnson said, it is time now to right them in the votes of law. Having spent his career on capitol hill, the tough texan called in the chips, cut deals, and faced down the filibuster of southern senators, pushing the legislation through both houses. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, not only opened the american system to africanamericans, but to all religious and ethnic minorities, women, and in time gays and lesbians and the handicapped. Thus the climax of the Civil Rights Movement occurred in the streets of birmingham, the violence suppression of civil rights arcivists there during such outrage, locally, nationally, globally, that the president can no longer hide behind a bankrupt policy of federalism. The recalcitrance of lawless helped push kennedy into action, never conceived by segregationists in the south as the governors response to the lawlessness in birmingham contributed to new civil rights laws. With a matter of race reform thrust upon the national stage, president s stole the show. They changed the scene from the hoses and dogs and schoolhouse doors, and they rewrote the ending in order to promise equality for all. Thank you. Hello. Thank you for jim inviting me this evening and thank you to the Birmingham Public Library. Before i get started i wanted to start by saying that i am going to attempt to recount wallaces life within the context of black politics. In last chapter of my book i begin by making a quote from william clay. He stated in 1992 that, black people have no permanent friends, no permanent enemies, just permanent interest. He stated this because within the context of the american political system, black people have shifted from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party. On the one cannot examine the life and legacy of George Wallace without examining it within the context of clays statement. On that statement is actually the motto of the Congressional Black Caucus also. That is, black the black community has no permanent friends, no permanent enemies, just permanent interest. So, a few things are clear about the life and legacy of George Wallace. First, he had political am bi s ambition. He wanted power. It was very clear they wanted power. Someone started out at a populist, a liberal, some describe ace socialist in his legislative career turned out to be a segregationist. Now, all thole he turned out to be a segregationist, later in life he apologized for his views. He asked people to forgive him. He admitted that he was wrong. One of the things thats surprising about George Wallaces life and his political career is the amount of support that he received from the black community on the 1982 election. People described this support as overwhelming, about 90 of the black population voted for George Wallace in the 1982 election. I will contend, however, that this level of support is not surprising if one understands the history of black Political Behavior in this country. So let me begin by starting out at the beginning of George Wallaces political career. Of course, he went to the university of alabama, he ran for a Political Office there in the sga. Eventually he ran for the state legislatu legislature. He won. He was in office from 1947 to 1953. As our previously stated he was known as a liberal legislator, some people would even say he was a socialist. He had a progressive agenda. Some of his policy positions included support for trade schools, community colleges. He also supported manufacturing jobs moving to the state of alabama. One thing is important to remember and to think about in the context of these policy positions of George Wallace, its very similar to someone very famous in the black community, booker t. Washington. In order to understand the link between George Wallace, his policy positions, the support for the black community that came later, you must also understand who booker t. Washington was. He was an accommodationist, some would say an uncle tom. The reason they say that in 1895 he made an address called the atlanta compromise. In this particular speech he stated that, in all things that are purely social, we can be as separate as the thinkers yet one as the hand and all things essential to mutual progress. So in essence was what booker t. Washington was saying was, it was okay for blacks and whites to live separate, it was completely okay as long as we came together to progress human society, it was okay for us to live separate. As previously stated, booker t. Washington described as an accommodationist to some and an uncle tom, he was one of the first africanamericans invited to the white house to have a meal with a sitting president. To understand the connection between wallace and the black community, wallace was very supportive of trade schools, community college. So theres a link there between wallace and the black Community Even as early as his legislative career. Although these positions were not avertly in support of the black agenda, they were indirectly supportive of improving black life in america, similar to the new deal and frederick roosevelt, sorry. Later during his time in office, he actually supported governor jim folsom, who was pretty liberal. Governor folsom was supportive of poor people, whether they were plaque or white. And George Wallace also supported jim folsom. Though he didnt come out and support what am i trying to say although he didnt support directly in franchising the black community he did support a candidate who did that. By 1949, George Wallace was appointed to the board of trustees at tuskegee institute, the link between George Wallace, the black community, and booker t. Washington. Booker t. Washington was the lead of tuskegee institute. Was founded by booshg t. Washington, and wallace had a productive career on the board of trustees at a historically black college. How could a segregationist who start toed out his career at a historically black college on the board of trustees end up where George Wallace was at the front at the schoolhouse door at the university of alabama . He went on to be a state judge in 1953. In this particular campaign he ran against a wealthy opponent, preston clayton. Again, running as a ruj judge he was a populist. Encouraged military officers to vote for his opponent. But he encouraged privates in the military to vote for him. So this is evidence of him supporting the regular person, the common man, in this particular campaign for judge. By 1954 he supported jim folsom for governor. He was the director of jim folsoms Southern Campaign in southern alabama. Although he would eventually disagree with some of folsoms positions. By 1958 he ran for governor. And this was the election i would say that was the turning point in wallaces philosophy. In this particular election, he ran as a liberal. As he was because he was considered a liberal, a socialist, actually he wanted to help the poor. He was a progressive. He was for the underdog. He ran against John Patterson who was one of the candidates who had ties to the kkk. John patterson actually had funding from the kkk in this particular elections. He was very obviously a segregationist. He was against integration. George wallace actually spoke out against patterson receiving support from the kkk. He also refused funding from the kkk. Eventually his refusal of support from the kkk ended up him getting an endorsement from the naacp. During that time the naacp had been banned in the state of alabama. And his opponent, John Patterson, was the one who was responsible for taking that case to court and banning the naacp, so here you have a guy, John Patterson, who fought against the naacp actually working in the state of alabama versus George Wallace, who spoke out against the kkk and who refused to receive funding from the kkk. Of course, we all know George Wallace lost that election by a landslide, over 60,000 votes separated him and patterson. This was the turning point in his career. As one of my panelists previously stated it was in this election afterwards that George Wallace stated that he would not be out in ward again. After he lost the election, he developed a strategy to use race and segregation to his to his to his advantage. He also, in using race and segregation to his advantage, i would say, manipulated middle class white voters who were somewhat disaffected from what and was going on in american politics at the time. So, if you fast forward to 1962, of course, after he developed some would say call that a southern strategy or the wallace strategy, he won the election in 1962. He won the election. He made promises to keep segregation in alabama no matter what. Now whats interesting about this is that when i did research and i looked at wallaces history, i couldnt find actually where early in life or early in his career he was just an you know, adamant segregationist. The loss of this election in 1958 kind of contributed to him changing his political philosophy. So in he lost in 1958. In 1959 he went back to his judgeship and he actually made a stand against the federal government as early as 1959 while he was a judge. In this particular year, the federal government had requested some documents for the county about voting records, and he refused to give them the records, he even stated that anybody who would turn over the records he would hold them in contempt. So this is like i guess the beginning of his segregationist stand. Then in 1962 he won the election and he used race as a way to win the election in 1962. He appealed to middle class whites, some would say his appeal was populist. He was working for the common man. However, i would say he had a political purpose in mind. It was political manipulation in the pursuit of power. He used middle class whites to get power. He used segregation, racism, White Supremacy to get power. He was elected to governor by a landslide in 1962. Now in 1962, we all know the famous words of of his speech. Segregation now. Segregation today. Segregation forever. His speech was written by a gentleman named asa carter who turned into a novelist by the name of forest carter. He is credited with writing that famous speech and those fame words for George Wallace. Now, some of the responses from the black community about george walla wallaces speech that year was they stated to hear the governor of a state get up and make the kind of comments that you would expect someone in a back alley with their sheets on and burning crossings would make. That was the thing that really caught us. Representative john lewis stated my governor, this elected official, was saying in effect you are not welcome. You are not welcome. In reference to blacks. Our words can be very powerful. They can be dangerous. I would contend even though George Wallace never pulled the trigger, he never set fire to a church, he perpetuated that by his language and his rhetoric. He gave people the ammunition they needed to go out and commit those violent acts. Some of the other things he did, he of course used the state patrol to his advantage. And of course we talked about previously in 1963 he made the famous stand in the school horse store at the university of alabama. Now, what is really interesting about wallace and his life is that two of the major events where he made a stand against the federal government, they were orchestrated. He had had conversations with the federal government behind the scenes and they allowed him to make those stands. Even though the federal government thought they were just giving this southern governor, you know, a little bit of power, make him look good, what actually happened is he manipulated white voters into ma making them think he was a segregationist. In looking at his life and some his policies, wouone would have wonder. If you look at his policies, you wonder that. Now of course we talked about later that year in 1963, we had all of the acts of violence in birmingham. Medgar evers was shot and murdered. And also dr. Martin luther king made the famous speech in washington. By 1964, wallace entered the president ial race and in this particular election, he had a national audience. The people who support or who supported wallace during these president ial campaigns wallace democrats, and they eventually became reagan democrats. This flight from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party can be attributed to wallace and his campaigns. By 1965, wallace was still in office. And some of the policies that came out of his time in office as governor include an increased salary for teachers. He also supported spending on public health, good roads. All of these were things that indirectly impacted and affected the black community. He also supported Higher Education and he established numerous technical and trade schools. If you remember, that was the connection between him and booker t. Washington and thus the black community. By 19 1968, he ran another campaign. These are pictures of some of the campaign paraphernalia. And his slogan was stand up for america. He appealed to the common man. Disaffected whites who were afraid of the black community integrating with them. Now, one of the things thats really important to keep in mind about wallace in the context of american politics is he began the use of what we could call code words in american politics. These are words that politicians use to rearticulate representations of racial differences in nonracial terms. Some of the code words we hear in american Politics Today, particularly among conservatives are when a candidate is tough on crime. States rights arguments. We support the state having more power than the federal government. The federal government is taking away power from the states. Antibussing during the time. Law and order. Crime and punishment. Urban crime. Voting blocs and the protection of property rights. And so i would attribute wallace with the beginning of the use of code words in american politics. Which still exist today. The next time we have an election,o ought to Pay Attention to how many times candidates use those terms. By 1970, he ran for governor again. He won albert brewer. He used the race to his advantage. By 1971, he made somewhat of a change. He was remarried. She refined his image. And he actually stated to reporters that he never believed in segregation. So here you have this man who started out as a populist. Would be described as a socialist. With a liberal agenda who supported the common working man. Turned into a segregationist because he lost an election. And then by 1971, saying hes not a segregationist. Now, again, an evaluation of the policies from this term as governor. He established the office of consumer protection. He increased retirement pensions. And increased unemployment compensation. Now, this doesnt necessarily sound like a conservative politician. The things that he did while he was in office. So by 1972, he is on the campaign trail again for president. This is a picture of him about five minutes before the assassination attempt. Which eventually led him to be in a wheelchair for the remainder of his life. Now, again, he renounces racism completely. After the assassination attempt. Ran for governor again in 1974 by opposing the federal government. He also in this term in office distributed political favors to blacks. He received about 25 of the black vote in this particular election. And then by 1979, another turning point in his career. Reported as having called representative john lewis to offer an apology. John lewis met with him and he asked for forgiveness. Of course he went around to black churches asking for forgiveness. By 1982, he ran and he received about 90 of the black vote. Now, this is the election that political scientists, historians, commentators like to talk about. So how could this man who stood in the School House Door at the university of alabama, also said segregation forever, how could he receive 90 of black support . That just seemed unrealistic, right . Now, for some people who dont study american politics, dont study black voting behavior, this is really surprise, shocking. How could people vote for this man . But i would contend that his level of support is not really surprising considering the record or the history of black partisanship in this country. What i have here is a demonstration of black partisanship over time. We started collecting this data in 1972. And it goes all the way to 2008. As you see, there is a major gap here. At the top is percentage of africanamericans that identify with the Democratic Party. And then at the bottom you see the percentage of blacks that actually identify with the Republican Party. So if you look at 1982, that number, although it drops a little bit in the number of black people who say theyre democrat, it never drops to the point where its going to actually impact somebody whos running in another statewide election like George Wallace. So i would contend that this 90 of vote that black people gave George Wallace in 1992 is not really. The lesser of two evils. If you compare what will clay said that black people have no permanent friends and no permanent enemies, just permanent interest, you can understand how George Wallace ended up with 90 of the black vote in the 1982 election. The next chart that i have here is just a demonstration of black president ial vote choice over time. Again, its echoing the same type of information. It gives you an indication that black people are overwhelmingly democrat in this country. And so, again, not really surprising that in 1982 you have a candidate whos running as a candidate who had somewhat of a liberal agent that until he made the decision to become a segregationist to get 90 of the black vote. Now, one of the things that people fail to talk about in this 1982 election is also who the opponent was. And that mans name was Emery Fullmer, former mayor of the city of montgomery. Republican. Not just a republican but a conservative republican. So, again, if you think about this in the context of blacks voting 90 , not really like black, had an option in this particular election. Mr. Fullmer here was former mayor of the city of montgomery. Also on the city council in the city of montgomery. He is known or he has been described as a racist, a bigot. He took office after the mayor the former mayor was forced to resign over a racial incident. Now, think about james robinson, the former mayor of montgomery. He was the mayor that actually changed the type of government that the city of montgomery had from an at Large Commission to a ninemember council that was based on districts. It was his time in office that actually ushered in black representation in the city of montgomery. So black people in montgomery went from having a friend somewhat in the mayors seat to mr. Fullmer. There is some evidence that mr. Fullmer was hostile to black interests. There is a situation in the city of montgomery where they receive federal funds. And mr. Fullmer, instead of sending that money to black residents who had to use outdoor toilets, he gave money to his wealthy district for golf recreational centers. Theres also other situations where mr. Fullmer was very hostile to black interests. So again not really surprising in 1982 for the black community to have given that level of support for George Wallace. No real other options in this particular election. And so you have George Wallace making his rounds to the black churches, to other black famous people asking for forgiveness. And then lastly a picture of him at the 30th anniversary of bloody sunday and he was actually responsible for the violence that was perpetuated there. State troopers under his direction. So if you look at whether or not the black community actually forgave George Wallace for what he did, one black person worked with the naacp stated, i forgive him but i do not forget. It begs the question of whether or not George Wallace wallace a segregationist at all. Did he merely use race segregation to his advantage to gain political power. No one will ever know because we dont know his heart. But what we do know is he attempted to get forgiveness for the wrongs that he had done. Thank you. [ applause ] dr. Lewis, i have to admit, i voted for Emery Fullmer for governor. It was the first time i voted in a gub that trorl election. I wanted to be able to say i never voted for George Wallace so at this point were going to entertain some questions that have been committed by the audience. Im going to take the host prerogative and ask the first question myself. Following up, especially dr. Lewis comments, but i hope all three of the panelists will weigh in on this. Because one of the most discussed aspects of wallaces story and wallace legacy is his quest for redemption. People ask me about it all the time. And theres always the question, was he a racist . Was he an opportunist . Was he a reformed racist . What was George Wallace . You make the good point, we wont ever know exactly what George Wallace was. I wanted, the three of you, why do you think this quest for redemption resonates with so Many Americans . Well, a part of the evangelical belief system is in forgiveness. And there is a large segment of the American Population who are evangelicals. And so to have someone who seemed genuine in asking for forgiveness, as an evangelical, you have no other option but to forgive. If you are if you believe in jesus christ and you believe in the power of forgiveness when someone asks for forgiveness, you have to forgive. And so i dont know any other option there is for an evangelical christian if someone asks for forgiveness. Dr. Carter, like to ask you, what about others . People other than evangelicals . With the notion of George Wallace around the dinner table. I called them my supporters there. I did research in the archives. He had described that fate fall meeting in which George Wallace had went and pleaded for forgiveness. As he said, treated me as his priest. In which he wanted absolution. And George Wallace said of course i forgive him. And i was telling this story to all my friends. And there wasnt a dry eye around the table. One exception. And i dont know and virginia was listening. She didnt hear very well. She was listening to me. She said, dan carter, you are the biggest fool ive ever known in my life. George wallace wants to get to hell and hes cutting one political deal. I dont know that i agree. Yeah, i think that points to wallaces ambition. Once he set his sights to something, he would stop nothing to gain it. So virginia was probably right. The issue resonates, though, i think so much with the public because its hard to square that kind of a wallace, a more open and tolerant wallace with the wallace of the School House Door. The wallace of so much hatred in birmingham. I think thats the legacy people recall. Certainly that was the burden he left the state. This question for the audience is specifically for dr. Eskew. In your book, you mentioned two names of white individuals in birmingham who publicly opposed the defiance of George Wallace. These were dr. Franklin of First Methodist Church and nia of the Birmingham City council. Were there other white people who opposed the governor on the issue of School Integration in august and september of 63 . Thats a great question. Perhaps shake the cobwebs out of my head and see if i can recall. There were a number of people who in the summer of afc63 to buildup of School Desegregation were critical of the governor in the birmingham news. Asking that the tenor be brought down out of support for the idea of School Desegregation. And there was recognition that the city had undergone huge turmoil in the spring and was experiencing a transition and the governor was making the situation very dangerous. So i would simply have to answer in a less specific way rather than names. Dan, you may know of some. There were in fact a good many people. The problem was it was suicide to speak out publicly. I mean, even someone like jeff morgan who, as many of you know, in the aftermath of the 16th street bombing, spoke to the Birmingham Businessmans club and angrily indicted the city and shamed himself. He said, i remain silent. Publicly silent. Many of my friends did, even though he knew this was the wrong course to take. It was because it was suicide. I dont mean in terms of killed but in terms of your business, your profession, whatever, if you spoke out. Very shortly thereafter, chuck morgan had to leave birmingham. So there were people. The answer is you didnt hear much from them. You know, i remember, i must have been about 6 years old when i was taken to a George Wallace rally. And the thing i remember, being a small child, this big crowd, it was on the front lawn of the county courthouse. And wallace came out, climbed up on to a flat bed truck and started speaking. And my most vivid memory as a child is the absolute frenzy of the crowd. You know, he whipped these adults around. You could feel the energy. As a kid, it was kind of a scary thing. To see adults just sort of lose it like that. Like all around. And so there was that wallace and then dr. Lewis talks about the George Wallace of code words and of coded politics. I find that students are often surprised when they encounter white supremist rhetoric from the early 20th century or the late 19th sent rcentury, becaus were so open and honest about what it was they were trying to do. Dr. Carter, dr. Eskew, i wonder if you would talk a little bit about what you see. When you look at the politics of recent years. The election of president obama. Where do you see the legacy of George Wallace in the tea party and the politics of now . Thats another book. Well, i mean, obviously, the use of these code words. The whole idea of the federal government encroaching upon the powers of state and local governments. The birther movement. The accusations that president obama is not a citizen or he is a muslim. These are all ways that the tea party has indirectly evoked race into american Politics Today without actually saying they are racist. If you just look at some candidates and how they run office, if you remember dukakis not being tough on crime. These are all code words that candidates use that is a way invoke this whole idea that the Civil Rights Movement, the struggles for equality, for all groups in this country, has gone too far. And so we need to reel it back in. And particularly the whole argument about the federal government being too strong. And the states need to, you know, take the authority and take back power. That is a major argument thats used now in politics. That you see all the time. Dr. Carter. The problem with i certainly agree with angela. No one was better able to talk about race without mentioning race. 1963 and 64 when governor wallace went on the road lecturing. He never talked about Civil Rights Act of 1964 talking away your right to sell only to white people. It was telling that you had to sell to somebody, whether they had green teeth or he had this long list of other characteristics. Everybody knew he was talking about race. The problem with code words, and its what makes it so frustrating i think for many people. I absolutely believe that lots of politician, use coded language. And some of its pretty nasty. But the difficulty comes when there are many issues on which there may be legitimate areas of disagreement even though theyre not just racial. You may also be a black parent who says i dont want my child to be bussed out of this neighborhood and go some place else. Welfare is a perfect example. I think welfare and crime are two areas that i would argue that its most egregious. We go from whole series of surveys that was done in the 1990s and early after 2000. That white americans overwhelmingly overestimate the percentage of africanamericans who are receiving welfare. Time and time again. The percentage of africanamericans who receive some form of public assistance, which is means tested in the united states, is actually less than the percentage that are in poverty. But when you ask americans, theyll assume that threefourths, twothirds of recipients of welfare are black, and theyre not. And so when you talk about welfare, politicians are perfectly aware when you harangue voters about welfare, they dont have to say black. Its already in peoples minds. All they have to do its like a command whistle to a dog. And that dog may not understand what youre saying, but he knows what that whistle means. I think thats often true of those examples. But it is difficult i think to say what is exactly race and what is not. So it makes it hard. Defining race, yes, i agree with you, dan. Defining politiciitics in racia terms. Using coded language, as you describe. I wonder if the power of that argument isnt on the wane. And what were experiencing is a real kind of crisis in american politics. After all, president obama represents in many ways the new america, not the old. The cost of politic, we find is a reflection of a political system that is trying to prevent change in relationship to the emerging new electorate. Estimate 2040 were going to have a majority thats a minority. There wont be the white majority. So theres this frustration over politics i think by a segment of the white population. But that frustration is really in a sense the death of the old politics. What is emerging is the new politics altogether. And its why i think the tea party or the Republican Party is in its own kind of crisis. Over recognition the political structure is changing and they have to appeal to different electorates. We have a final question. This is an interesting one. Would any of you like to compare wallace and Strom Thurmond in terms of their stories, their seeking redemption or anything. Ill take a stab at it in the didn beginning and turn it over to the experts. I would raise the question, why didnt wallace vote for the Democratic Party . As we evaluate him and his legacy, thats one i think that should be considered. After all, there were people who expressed similar racial views as wallace who left the Democratic Party and ultimately joined the Republican Party. What wallace did instead was remain the yellow dog democrat. He refused to leave the party in 1948 during the dixiecrat convention. He remains a democrat until he ultimately votes it but he votes it from a third party, the american party. And in the end he comes back into the fold with the Democratic Party. So that raises very interesting comparison with strom who of course will leave the Democratic Party and become a republican. Anyone else want to take a stab at that . Pretty physically fit. I guess ill i think i think senator thurman was better at standing on his head. Life magazine photograph who had the most wives, wallace or thurman . Governor wallace with three. Count i do think a lot of this, as it has all the way through, has to do with timing. Strom thurman is a creature of the 1940s and 50s. And he was pretty much type cast in a way that wallace was also. The other thing i would say is actually and i base this on my who did a biography of it, actually senator thurman never apologized. Just kind of engaged in what i call the great white southern past time. Called amnesia. Forget about it. It happened yesterday. Todays today. Lets remember what we want to. Any final words . Im going to leave that one alone. Youre going to leave that one alone. I dont blame you. Lets thank our panel again. [ applause ] thank all of you for coming tonight. Drive safely. Good evening. Thank you very much. Very good to meet you. Really glad to meet you. I never saw anything like it when i landed. There was broken equipment. There was bodies all over the place. They hadnt yet to bury anybody. Either the japanese or the american americans. There were bodies without arms, without heads, completely eviscerated. Theres a smell that you never get over. To this day, i when i drive by a cemetery and especially if theyre using recycled water, i really think i can smell the
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