Central City in Birmingham in Jefferson County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)

The Schoolhouse Stand at Alabama

March Route for Education

— Birmingham Civil Rights Heritage Trail —

The Schoolhouse Stand at Alabama Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, December 5, 2021

1. The Schoolhouse Stand at Alabama Marker

Inscription.

The Schoolhouse Stand at Alabama. March Route for Education. Southern governors, mayors and elected officials employed every means to resist public school integration, even famously using armed state guards to block Black students from entering. For example, Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus called the Arkansas National Guard to block nine Black students from integrating Little Rock High School in 1957. But President Dwight Eisenhower deployed national troops, and then federalized the Arkansas National Guard. So, the same state guards who once blocked the students had to obey the President's federal order to escort the "Little Rock Nine” into the school through an angry White mob. Arkansas also shut down its public schools or leased them to "private school corporations” to prevent integration. An Alabama governor later tried the same tactic, with a dramatic response from another president. , Paired marker , June 11, 1963 , Alabama Gov. George Wallace kept his 1962 campaign promise to stand in the schoolhouse door” to physically stop integration. After giving a speech against federal judges interfering with “state's rights," with state troopers at his side and television cameras broadcasting the drama, Wallace took his stand at the main door of Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. He blocked Assistant U.S. Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach from entering with Black students Vivian Malone and James Hood, who had federal court orders to be admitted to the university. Wallace eventually stepped aside to allow the first Black students into the university since Autherine Lucy in 1956. Miss Malone was the school's first Black graduate. Later in his life, Wallace apologized for his opposition to school integration. , "Nothing should be overlooked in fighting for better education." , Roy Wilkins , Long-time leader of the NAACP and civil rights activist., Lesson D7: Discuss how some White Southerners might have felt about the cultural changes brought on by the Civil Rights Movement.

Southern governors, mayors and elected officials employed every means to resist public school integration, even famously using armed state guards to block Black students from entering. For example, Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus called the Arkansas National Guard to block nine Black students from integrating Little Rock High School in 1957. But President Dwight Eisenhower deployed national troops, and then federalized the Arkansas National Guard. So, the same state guards who once blocked the students had to obey the President's federal order to escort the "Little Rock Nine” into the school through an angry White mob. Arkansas also shut down its public schools or leased them to "private school corporations” to prevent integration. An Alabama governor later tried the same tactic, with a dramatic response from another president.

Paired marker
June 11, 1963
Alabama Gov. George Wallace kept his 1962 campaign promise to stand in the schoolhouse door” to physically stop integration. After giving a speech against federal judges interfering with “state's rights," with state troopers at his side and television cameras broadcasting the drama, Wallace took his stand at the main door of Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. He blocked Assistant U.S. Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach from entering with Black students Vivian Malone and James Hood, who had federal court orders to be admitted to the university. Wallace eventually stepped aside to allow the first Black students into the university since Autherine Lucy in 1956. Miss Malone was the school's first Black graduate. Later in his life, Wallace apologized for his opposition to school integration.

"Nothing should be overlooked in fighting for better education."
Roy Wilkins
Long-time leader of the NAACP and civil rights

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activist.

Lesson D7: Discuss how some White Southerners might have felt about the cultural changes brought on by the Civil Rights Movement.

Erected by the Birmingham Civil Rights Heritage Trail. (Marker Number D7.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Education. In addition, it is included in the Birmingham Civil Rights Heritage Trail series list. A significant historical date for this entry is June 11, 1963.

Location. 33° 31.288′ N, 86° 48.414′ W. Marker is in Birmingham, Alabama, in Jefferson County. It is in Central City. It is on 22nd Street North south of 7th Avenue North, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Birmingham AL 35203, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American South

and specifically in the Deep South.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate

The Schoolhouse Stand at Alabama paired marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton

2. The Schoolhouse Stand at Alabama paired marker

States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Alabama's Rebel Yell (a few steps from this marker); Hope Arrives (within shouting distance of this marker); School Integration Now (within shouting distance of this marker); Children's Crusade for Education (within shouting distance of this marker); Southern Resistance (within shouting distance of this marker); Integration Begins: Desegregating Graymont School (within shouting distance of this marker); Education of Black Folk (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Desegregating West End School (about 300 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Birmingham.

Regarding The Schoolhouse Stand at Alabama. The Civil Rights Activist Committee “Home of the Foot Soldiers“ is the Information Center for the Birmingham Civil Rights Heritage Trail.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, December 5, 2021

3. The Schoolhouse Stand at Alabama Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on January 8, 2022. It was originally submitted on December 7, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 511 times since then and 43 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on December 7, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.