Governor Wallace presented the Lurleen B. Wallace Award for Courage to Jones that same year and apologized that he had made a mistake in his actions to deny her access to education. As a teenager, Malone was often involved in community organizations to end racial discrimination and worked closely with local leaders of the movements to work for desegregation in schools.[2]. Despite her university achievements, she did not receive any job offers in Alabama. Do you find this information helpful? In August 1993, Buford and Maxine Hearn sold the property at 6210 Old National Highway to Dr. Mack Arthur Jones, an OB-GYN who was married to Vivian Malone, the sister of Sharon Malone, Eric . My escort and I would later marry, have two wonderful children, while he finished his medical education at Emory, and I started my career. Dean Sarah Healy and Professor Miriam Locke were loving and caring and constant in their support of me. [4] Upon her retirement, she began to sell life insurance. [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 Mobile, Alabama, native who. A Sleight of History: University of Alabamas Foster Auditorium, http://www.bhamwiki.com/w/Vivian_Malone_Jones, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivian_Malone_Jones, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foster_Auditorium. Marshal and Katzenbach, it was decided that Malone would not be taken out of school or unenrolled because of the bombings. So far, Fast or Never is the only speeds I got with forgiving." In the same interview, she said that one of her strongest memories was of how whyte students refused to make eye contact with her or return her smile. Forego a bottle of soda and donate its cost to us for the information you just learned, and feel good about helping to make it available to everyone. (Aug. 12, 2000). Vivian Malone Jones was one of the two students whose enrollment Alabama Governor George C. Wallace attempted to block by positioning himself in the doorway of Foster Auditorium. Vivian Juanita Malone was one of the first two black students to enroll at the University of Alabama and was the first black graduate of the institution. [1] Jones died following a stroke at age 63 on October 13, 2005, in an Atlanta hospital. What you have done to reach this milestone today is part of that preparation. Don't mistake me. October 13, 2005. Vivian Malone. In February 1961, she enrolled in Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University, one of the few colleges for black students in the state. Wallace had made his famous "stand in the. [3] After two years of deliberation and court proceedings, Malone and Hood were granted permission to enroll in the university by order of District Court Judge Harlan Grooms in 1963. She was a research analyst and civil rights activist. Deputy Attorney General Katzenbach called President Kennedy to force Governor Wallace to back down. Upon her graduation, she joined the civil rights division of the U.S. Department of Justice. I often think of the courage of Rosa Parks. No bomb materialized, but that November, there were three bomb blasts at the university, one of them, four blocks from her dormitory. Mack would be here today but is recovering from kidney transplant surgery--yet another miracle of the last thirty-five years. Vivian Malone Jones (class of 1965), in her commencement speech to the UA class of 2000. In February 1961, she enrolled in Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University, one of the few colleges for Black students in the state. Her funeral services were held at the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse College. I had been inspired by the personal courage of people like John LeFlore, head of the NAACP in Mobile, and I had applied for admission to the Mobile branch of the University of Alabama, only to be turned away. She grew up in a community heavily involved in desegregation and equality efforts, and her parents placed a high value on education. We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. Vivian Juanita Malone Jones was one of the first two black students to enroll at the University of Alabama in 1963, and in 1965 became the university's first black graduate. FamousFix profile for Vivian Malone Jones including biography information, wikipedia facts, photos, galleries, news, youtube videos, quotes, posters . All Rights Reserved. She moved to Washington to work in the civil rights division of the US justice department, and later became director of civil rights and urban affairs, and director of environmental justice, at the environmental protection agency. Education: Attended Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical College, 1961-63; University of Alabama, BS, 1965. Kentake Page is also a celebration and appreciation of Black authors and artists. Ironically, Jones was chosen by the George Wallace Family Foundation to be the first recipient of their Lurleen B. Wallace Award of Courage in 1996. I completed medical school at Loma Linda University School of Medicine in 1984. Jones had a son, a daughter, three grandchildren, four sisters, and three brothers. They later fell in love and married. In November 1963 there were three bomb blasts at the University of Alabama, one of them just four blocks from Vivian Malone Jones dormitory. I try to eat well, try to sleep. Wallace could not interfere with their. She was made famous by defying Alabama Governor George Wallaces infamous stand in the schoolhouse door to block her and James Hood from enrolling at the all-whyte university. Oxford University Press, 1993, pp. When I arrived here on June 11, 1963, years of preparation had gone into making it happen. "It had taken me two and a half years to gain admission, and nobody. She remained in the dormitory until the situation was determined to have calmed down. Vivian Juanita Malone Jones was one of the first two African American students to enroll at the University of Alabama in 1963 and the universitys first African American graduate. [17] The marker sits along the Dora Franklin Finley African-American Heritage Trail in Mobile, Alabama. YWCA was founded for young women," Rhodes said. I had been active in my own community's efforts to end segregation. She had attended workshops and training sessions. Later in September four little girls would die in the dynamiting of the 16th Street Baptist Church. While in Washington, she attended George Washington University and pursued a master's degree in public administration. She took a job as an employee relations specialist at the central office of the United States Veteran's Administration. She . In a speech to University of Alabama graduates in 2000, Ms. Jones suggested one lesson that might be taken from her historic experience: You must always be ready to seize the moment., Source:http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/14/us/vivian-malone-jones-63-dies-first-black-graduate-of-university-of-alabama.html?_r=0http://www.theguardian.com/news/2005/oct/18/guardianobituaries.usahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivian_Malone_Jones. image. The president federalized the Alabama National Guard, placing it under his command, rather than the governors. 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. In June 2003, the 40th anniversary of successful integration at Alabama, Vivian Malone Jones spoke of her debt to the woman who had first fought its racial barrier. In 2018, JaVaughnae Malone and her mother, Janice, started a nonprofit called Vivian's Door in Mobile, Alabama. [2] Her parents were also active in civil rights and often participated in local meetings, donations, and activities in the community that promoted equality and desegregation. I am Ghanaian. Vivian Malone was one of the 1st two African American students to enroll at the University of Alabama in 1963. In 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency established the Vivian Malone Jones Legacy Award in her honor. "I remember how I entered the YWCA and the resources they provided for me as a Black kid from inner-city Brooklyn. Malone attended Central High School, where she was a member of the National Honor Society. by Vivian Malone Jones), http://www.bhamwiki.com/w/Vivian_Malone_Jones Her brother-in-law Eric Holder[14] served as U.S. Attorney General. 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. In 2000, she was awarded a doctorate of humane letters from UA. Jones was born in 1942 in Mobile, Alabama. [11], She was appointed to a position as the Executive Director of the Voter Education Project in August 1977 and worked towards voter equality for minorities. even prouder of Autherine Lucy's portrait that hangs in the Ferguson Center and that of Arthur Shores in the Library. Vivian Malone Jones died in 2005 . leave the state to find a career. It does not help you; it does not help others. 0 references. A classical case was that of Autherine Lucy, an African-American woman who gained admission to its library science program. [18], In 2018, JaVaughnae Malone and her mother, Janice, started a nonprofit called Vivian's Door in Mobile, 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. The move by Jones was seen as another bold attempt to right the unwritten rule of the all-white university. She also worked at the Environmental Protection Agency as director of civil rights and urban affairs and director of environmental justice before retiring in 1996 to sell life insurance. It was a tortuous journey but Jones graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in business management. Ms. VIVIAN MALONE JONES (Civil Rights Activist): I expected it to go pretty smoothly. My two years on campus were lonely, despite the self-conscious and understandably awkward efforts of some fellow students to reach out. Segregation as it had come to be ratified in Plessy vs. Ferguson and passed on in the Alabama Constitution of 1901, (which, by the way, still governs this state), that form of segregation officially ended on a hot June day in 1963. Love Will Find Out the Way (l. 53-56) Side 2 Born in Monroe County, Alabama and a graduate of Central High School in Mobile, Mrs. Jones gave the commencement address to the 2000 graduating class of the University of Alabama during which she orated: . It would be, 'Are they friendly or unfriendly?' Graham. Send Flowers. Of her historic . Nina Dobrev, Forgive me if I have a kind of allergic reaction to all words that hint of nationalism Italo Calvino, Our cemeteries are full of people who prayed to live. She was made famous when George Wallace, the Governor of Alabama, attempted to block her and James Hood from enrolling at the all-white university. Her entrance to the university came as the civil rights struggle raged across the South. Hood, who could not stand the frustration, transferred to Wayne State University leaving Jones as the only Black student among a white population of 10,000. She attended Alabama A&M for two years and received a Bachelors degree in Business Education before the University had been fully accredited. June 11 marks the anniversary of the successful integration of The University of Alabama. 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