Making A Selection: James Hood reaches for a book on a shelf in the university bookstore at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa today. Hood and another black student, Vivian Malone, were admitted yesterday.

James Alexander Hood (November 10, 1942 – January 17, 2013) was one of the first blacks to enroll at the University of Alabama in 1963. He was made famous when Alabama Governor George Wallace blocked him from enrolling at the all-white university, an incident which became known as the "Stand in the Schoolhouse Door."

Vivian Malone Jones (July 15, 1942 – October 13, 2005) was one of the first two black students to enroll at the University of Alabama in 1963. In 1965, she became the university's first black graduate. She was made famous when Alabama Governor George Wallace attempted to block her and James Hood from enrolling at the all-white university. Despite earning high academic achievements from the university, she never received a job offer in Alabama. She later joined the Civil Rights division of the U.S. Department of Justice and served as a research analyst. She was appointed to a position as the Executive Director of the Voter Education Project and worked towards voter equality for minorities, thus assisting millions of blacks to register to vote. Malone Jones later became the Director of Civil Rights and Urban Affairs and Director of Environmental Justice for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a position she held until her retirement in 1996.

The Stand in the Schoolhouse Door took place at Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama on June 11, 1963. George Wallace stood at the door of the auditorium to try to block the entry of Vivian Malone and James Hood. In response, President John F. Kennedy issued Executive Order 11111, which federalized the Alabama National Guard, and Guard General Henry Graham then commanded Wallace to step aside, saying, "Sir, it is my sad duty to ask you to step aside under the orders of the President of the United States."

On verso: manuscript title and typewritten label with title and date affixed.

Wire photographs were originally transmitted over phonelines, then later, by satellite. They were first used in the early 1920s. Associated Press became a leader with this. After pigment touch-ups, etc., the print is put into a drum (like a drum scanner). The image gets converted into audio tones that are transmitted. The tones are received and beamed onto photo-sensitive paper. Wire photographs are copies without originals---they are hybrid, transmitted objects. (Britt Salvesen, Curator and Department Head, Photography Department, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, March 30-31, 2022)

This object has the following keywords:

• Books
• Bookstores
• Broken barriers
• Civil Rights Movements
• Desegregation
• Education
• Injustice
• James Hood
• Male Portraits
• Racial Discrimination
• Tuscaloosa
• University of Alabama

• Image Dimensions: 5 1/2 x 6 9/16 in. (13.97 x 16.67 cm) Measured by Hudson, Karen
• Sheet Dimensions: 6 5/8 x 6 3/4 in. (16.83 x 17.15 cm) Measured by Hudson, Karen