This day in black history: University of Alabama desegregated

Alabama Governor George Wallace blocks desegregation of the University of Alabama in 1963

In June of 1963, two black students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, attempted to register for classes at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, but the door was blocked by Alabama Governor George Wallace who was a known segregationist. 

However, the U.S. Supreme Court had declared segregation unconstitutional in 1954′s Brown v. Board of Education, and the executive branch undertook aggressive tactics to enforce the ruling. As a result, on June 10, 1963, President John F. Kennedy federalized National Guard troops and deployed them to the University of Alabama to force its desegregation. 

Governor Wallace ended his blockage of the University when faced by the federal troops and allowed the two black students to enroll the following day.In 1965, Vivian Malone became the first African-American to graduate from the University of Alabama.

History contributed to this article.