In an event that later became known as “the Stand in the Schoolhouse Door”, a figure of considerable authority took a stand against a growing movement which demanded equal access to the University of Alabama. This figure was Democratic Alabama governor George Wallace at the Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama on June 11, 1963.
Look at this image below as Alabama George Wallace confronts the US Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach, this was hardly enough to convince Wallace to move. It would take much more than that to remove Wallace from his post which at this point was blocking the first African American students Vivian Malone and James Hood from entering the University of Alabama.
Federal Response
George Wallace was immovable, literally. So much so that President John F. Kennedy ordered Executive Order 11111, that’s five ones, which activated the Alabama National Guard. National Guard General Henry V. Graham then moved Wallace from the door ending the confrontation, all while the media was filming the entire thing.
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