Nix said he felt Hood did what he did partly to pave the way for others to be able to improve themselves and get a higher education and partly because he wanted to attend the University of Alabama.
Hood and Malone were accompanied by Deputy U.S. Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach when they were confronted by Wallace as they attempted to enter the universitys Foster Auditorium to register for classes and pay fees.
Then-Alabama Gov. George Wallace made his inmous stand in the schoolhouse door in a iled effort to prevent Hood and Vivian Malone from registering for classes at the university in 1963.
One of the first black students who enrolled at the University of Alabama a half century ago in defiance of racial segregation has died. James Hood of Gadsden was 70.
120 3rd Avenue NW
The Rev. Preston Nix grew up in Etowah County and said he knew of Hood, who was several years older than he.
(605) 886-4280 (x)
Phone:
P.O. Box 10
(605) 886-6901
FILE - In this July 2, 1996 file photo, former four-term Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace, seated at right, holds hands with James Hood at the Wallace Foundation in Montgomery, Ala., as they view a display picturing Wallaces mous stand in the schoolhouse door at the University of Alabama some 33 years ago in 1963. Hood was one of the two students that Wallace, then a segregationist, tried to deny admittance to the university. Hood,Microsoft Privacy free satellite tv. one of the first black students at the University of Alabama, has died. He was 70. Officials at Adams-Buggs Funeral Home in Gadsden said they are handling arrangements for Hood, who died Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013. Details concerning Hoods funeral are not complete, funeral home officials said. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, education books File)
Samory Pruitt, vice president for community afirs at UA, agreed with Nix.
Because of what he did, people like me were afforded the opportunity to go to the University of Alabama, said Pruitt, who is black. I think its about people having the opportunity to be the best they can be.
Address:
FILE - In this June 9, 1963 file photo, James A. Hood and Vivian J. Malone of Alabama pose in New York. Alabama Gov. George Wallace said he would personally bar them from registering at the University of Alabama despite a restraining order. Hood, one of the first black students at the University of Alabama, has died. He was 70. Officials at Adams-Buggs Funeral Home in Gadsden said they are handling arrangements for Hood, who died Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013. Details concerning Hoods funeral are not complete, funeral home officials said. (AP Photo/John Lindsay, tumour2183.typepad.com File)
Hood was the last survivor among the major figures in the schoolhouse door incident. Wallace died in 1998, Vivian Malone Jones in 2005 and Katzenbach last year.
He later moved to Wisconsin, where he worked at the Madison Area Technical College for 26 years. He retired in 2002 as chairman of public safety services in charge of police and fire training.
Nix said it took a lot of courage for Hood to challenge the segregation at the University of Alabama in 1963.
Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or ually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
He didnt try tomaster degree types James Hood dies; defied segregation at U of Ala make it into more than what it was, Clark said.
Questions? Comments? Suggestions?
His connection to the university continued decades later when he returned to UA to earn his doctorate in 1997. He was a valued member of The University of Alabama community, and he will be missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with his mily during this difficult time, Bonner said.
Officials at Adams-Buggs Funeral Home in Gadsden said they are handling arrangements for Hood, who died Thursday.
UA President Judy Bonner remembered Hood as a man of courage and conviction for being one of the first black students to enroll at the university.
Culpepper Clark, author of The Schoolhouse Door: Segregations Last Stand at the University of Alabama, called the schoolhouse door incident an iconic moment in the Civil Rights Movement because it provided a confrontation between Wallace and the Kennedy administration. He said the incident was symbolically important and helped lead to passage of the Voting Rights Act.
Watertown, SD
Clark described Hood as a man with a lot of intellectual energy who understood the importance of what he did at the University of Alabama in 1963.
FILE - In this June 11, 1963 file photo, Vivian Malone and James Hood stand in the doorway of Foster Auditorium where they hold what they called their first and final news conference after the two African-American students registered at the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, Ala. Earlier, 10 Steps For Any Great Research Paper Gov. George Wallace had barred their way from the same doorway. Hood, one of the first black students at the University of Alabama, has died. He was 70. Officials at Adams-Buggs Funeral Home in Gadsden said they are handling arrangements for Hood, who died Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013. Details concerning Hoods funeral are not complete, funeral home officials said. (AP Photo/File)
He finally returned to UA later in life to earn his doctorate.
Wallace backed down later that day and Hood and Malone registered for classes.
Contact us at
After enrolling, Hood remained at UA for a few months and moved to Michigan, where he received a bachelors degree from Wayne State University and a masters degree from Michigan State.