ON JUNE 11, 1963, fifty years ago today, alabama governor george wallace stood in the doorway of the registrar's office at the university of alabama, and prevented two african american students from entering and enrolling, in defiance of federal law.
To some of us, it seems almost like yesterday. It must seem that way to wallace's daughter, who is now sixty three, and a staunch advocate of racial harmony and equality, as george wallace himself became late in life.
I was living in alabama when wallace died in the summer of 1998. As an "outsider", i was interested in the reaction to and attitudes about his passing. IN the birmingham media, emphasis was placed on wallace's late life personal evolution away from bigotry and segregation, and towards acceptance and integration.
I found this interesting, and appropiate, for the people of alabama, and the south in general, and the united states more generally, have evolved, have grown, and have proven themselves worthy of the great multi racial inclusive country in which they now live.
Even when I was eight years old, in 1963, and ten years old, in 1965, and twelve years old in 1967, I saw the evil stupidity of racial hatred. It was just as obvious to me then as it is now. I say this only because it is a fact. And if I could see it then, then everybody could see it, or could have seen it.
George wallace knew even as he blocked the doorway that he was standing up for a lost cause, and a wrong one. His later conversion clearly shows this. More than mere racism, his passion was states rights; but all rights are relative, and some rights are right, and some are wrong.
In the late nineteen sixties legendary alabama football coach paul bear bryant deliberately scheduled a home game with the USC trojans, for the purpose of showcasing southern cal's elite black athletes, who obliged him by running rings around his crimson tide white boys. Coach bryant made his point; change, and modernize, or get left behind.
today, the alabma crimson tide not only are not left behind, they are in the front row of success, with an effective, harmonious mix of races on their football team. Roll tide, and..congratulations.
My mother, a farm girl now 93 years old, spent the nineteen sixties expressing disgust at the racism which permeated america and ripped it apart. I recall how she insisted that, at the 1967 baseball all star game, mickey mantle received more applause than willie mays, because, she claimed, mickey was white, and willie was black.
I begged to differ. In the first place, I told her, I could discern no difference in the strength of applause for the two superstars, and , in any case, if mickey got a slightly larger ovation, it was because he was in an american league ballpark (anaheim), and he was an american leaguer, and willie played in the opposing national league.
Mom was not persuaded by my argument. But, I tried my best, and I was only twelve years old.When I tell her nowadays that today's kids are truly color blind, her response is: "well, its about time!". She was color blind in the nineteen twenties, just like everyone else could have been, should have been. But now, at long last, the rest of america has finally reached my mother's level of enlightenment. Its about time.
My mother is a great lady, a great american, and a great role model, because of who she is. George wallace was a great man, and a great american, not for what he was, but for who he became.
AS goethe said, "we advance only because of errors which really irk us." The great achievement of america is that her errors always irk her sufficiently to inspire change, and for that, the american people, including george wallace, are to be congratulated.
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