Vivian Malone Jones
Vivian Malone Jones | |
---|---|
Born | Vivian Juanita Malone July 15, 1942 |
Died | October 13, 2005 | (aged 63)
Alma mater | Alabama A&M University University of Alabama |
Known for | Integrating the University of Alabama |
Spouse | Mack Arthur Jones |
Children | 2 |
Relatives | Eric Holder (brother-in-law) Jeff Malone (nephew) |
Vivian Juanita Malone Jones (July 15, 1942 – October 13, 2005) was one of the first two
Early life
Malone was born in
Malone attended Central High School, where she was a member of the
University of Alabama
In 1961, Malone had received word from a family friend that the local Non-Partisan Voter League had organized a plan to desegregate the University of Alabama's branch school in Mobile. Due to her exceptional performance in high school, Malone was one out of a number of local black students the organization suggested apply to the Mobile campus. At least 200 black students had applied to the university only to have their applications rejected.[2] The university denied admission to the applicants on the grounds of over-enrollment and closed enrollment, the quotas already being filled or the academic performance of the students not meeting required standards;[4] however, it had become understood by the community that the university would not admit the black students because of resistance to school desegregation.[5]
Black students who had applied to the university's branch campus in Mobile were investigated by the university's department of Public Safety, including Malone.[2] After applying to the Mobile branch of the University of Alabama, Malone and her family had been visited by two white men who had claimed that they were representatives of the state. They disclosed that her attempts to apply to the Mobile campus and integrate with the school had instigated violent retaliation from the local white community from which the family would not receive much protection.[2] The threat to her safety did not deter Malone from continuing to support integration in the university and she persisted in applying to the University of Alabama to earn a degree in accounting.
The
On June 11, 1963, Malone and Hood, accompanied by United States Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach and a three-car motorcade full of federal marshals, arrived at the University of Alabama's campus with the intention to enroll.[2] Waiting for them on campus and blocking the entryway to Foster Auditorium was Governor Wallace, flanked by a group of state troopers. Wallace intended to keep true to his promise of upholding segregation in the state and stopping "integration at the schoolhouse door".[6] As Malone and Hood waited in a car, Deputy Attorney General Katzenbach and a small team of federal marshals confronted Wallace to demand that Malone and Hood be allowed entry by order of the federal court and for Wallace to step aside.[4]
Wallace had not only refused the order, but he interrupted Katzenbach; in front of the crowds of media crews surrounding him, Wallace delivered a short, symbolic speech concerning state sovereignty, claiming:
"The unwelcomed, unwanted, unwarranted and force-induced intrusion upon the campus of the University of Alabama ... of the might of the Central Government offers frightful example of the oppression of the rights, privileges and sovereignty of this State by officers of the Federal Government."[7]
After seeing that Wallace would not step aside, Katzenbach called upon the assistance of President John F. Kennedy to force Wallace to permit the black students' entry into the university.[4][2] Katzenbach took Malone up to her dormitory and told her to see her room and eat lunch alone in the dining room if she became hungry. Malone went downstairs into the dining room, and was surprised to be joined by several white students, who ate lunch with her. She remained in the dormitory until the situation was determined to have calmed down.[2]
President John F. Kennedy federalized the Alabama National Guard later the same day, which put them under the command of the president, rather than the governor of Alabama. One hundred guardsmen escorted Malone and Hood from their dorms back to the auditorium, where Wallace moved aside at the request of General Henry V. Graham.[2] Malone and Hood then entered the building, albeit through another door.[8] As she and Hood entered the building, they were met with surprising applause from white supporters of integration.[2] They then entered the gym and registered as students of the university, with Malone being accepted into the university as a junior.[3]
Malone's time spent at the University of Alabama was relatively free of conflict and threats to her safety, with the exception of a spree of bombings that occurred in November 1963 by rioting whites possibly angry with the integration policy. After much deliberation between the U.S. Marshal and Katzenbach, it was decided that Malone would not be taken out of school or unenrolled because of the bombings.[2] Two years later, in 1965, she received a Bachelor of Arts in business management and became the first black student to graduate from the University of Alabama. She graduated with a B-plus average.[3]
Later life
Despite her university achievements, she did not receive any job offers in Alabama.
She was appointed to a position as the executive director of the
Personal life
Jones was married to Mack Arthur Jones, an obstetrician, who predeceased her in 2004.[13] She first met Jones when he was hired as her driver at the University of Alabama.[13] She was a member of From the Heart Christian Ministries of Atlanta where she served as an usher. Her brother-in-law Eric Holder[14] served as U.S. Attorney General. Her nephew Jeff Malone was an All-American basketball student-athlete at Mississippi State University and NBA standout.[3]
Jones died following a stroke at age 63 on October 13, 2005, in an Atlanta hospital.[13] Her funeral services were held at the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse College. Jones had a son, a daughter, three grandchildren, four sisters, and three brothers.
Legacy
Popular culture
The arrival of Vivian Malone Jones and James Hood to the University of Alabama, also known as Stand in the Schoolhouse Door, was depicted in the 1994 film Forrest Gump.[15] The main character appeared at the event and handed Jones a book she dropped when walking into Foster Auditorium.[16]
Historical marker and additional honors
In 2017, a historical marker was installed at the Mobile County Health Department in honor of Jones.[17] It was placed at the location of her childhood home, which is now the parking lot for the Keeler Memorial Building on the Health Department's campus.[17] The marker sits along the Dora Franklin Finley African-American Heritage Trail in Mobile, Alabama.[17]
In 2018, a street in downtown Mobile was named in her honor.[18]
Awards and community impact
In 2018, JaVaughnae Malone and her mother, Janice, started a nonprofit called Vivian's Door in Mobile, Alabama.[19] With a purpose of fostering minority-owned businesses, Vivian's Door has dedicated itself to providing training, resources, networking opportunities, and customers to local minority businesses in south Alabama.[19] Their initiative was inspired by JaVaughnae's cousin, Vivian Malone Jones.[20][21] Additionally, the University of Alabama awards a student the Vivian Malone Jones Endowed Scholarship for Diversity each year.[17] In 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency established the Vivian Malone Jones Legacy Award in her honor.[22] Each year, an individual who has demonstrated integrity and consistently contributed to social justice in the Environmental Protection Agency or in the greater community is presented with this award in memoriam of Jones and the legacy of her work.[22]
See also
- The McDonogh Three
- Little Rock Nine
- James Meredith
References
- ISBN 0-8101-0920-4
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Clark, E. Culpepper. "The Schoolhouse Door". Oxford University Press, 1993, pp. 175–176, 225–228.
- ^ a b c d e f g Martin, Douglas (October 14, 1995). "Vivian Malone Jones, 63, Dies; First Black Graduate of University of Alabama". The New York Times. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Bledsoe, Christena (2004). "Vivian Malone Jones and the VEP: From Integration to Voter Registration". Southern Changes. Volume 1, Number 2. October–November 1978. Atlanta, GA: Southern Regional Council. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
- ^ "400 Years of the African American Civil Rights Experience". docslide.net. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
- ^ Elliot, Debbie. Wallace in the Schoolhouse Door. NPR. June 11, 2003; accessed February 19, 2009.
- ^ "Alabama Department of Archives and History, Governor George C. Wallace's School House Door Speech". Archived from the original on August 6, 2002. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
- ^ Alabama segregation date approaches, USA Today, 2003-06-08, retrieved 2007-11-23
- ^ "G4 Vivian Malone". Hilary N. Green, PhD. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
- ^ Civil rights pioneer Vivian Jones dies, USA Today, 2005-10-13, retrieved 2007-11-23
- ^ Wulf, Karin. "For Generations, Black Women Have Envisioned a Better, Fairer American Politics". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
- ^ a b "Vivian Malone Jones". NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
- ^ a b c d "Jones, Vivian Malone". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
- ^ Holley, Joe (October 14, 2005). "Vivian Malone Jones Dies; Integrated U-Ala" (Obituaries). The Washington Post. Metro. Retrieved November 19, 2008.
- ^ "F.G. at George Wallace standoff – YouTube". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
- ^ "The Stand in the Schoolhouse Door | Forrest Gump February (TSB032) – YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
- ^ a b c d "Historical marker in Mobile honors Vivan Malone Jones". al. 2017-08-07. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
- ^ WPMI, Alyssa Newton (2018-06-16). "Mobile dedicates street to Vivian Malone, first black U. of Alabama graduate". WPMI. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
- ^ a b "Honoring the legacy, history of Mobile's minority businesses". This Is Alabama. 2020-01-06. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
- ^ "Vivian's Door | Our Mission". www.viviansdoor.com. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
- ^ "Juneteenth spotlight: Vivian's Door makes room for Black entrepreneurs | blissforsingles.com". Retrieved 2020-12-07.
- ^ a b "National Honor Awards" (PDF). United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Retrieved 2023-12-24.