With all of the debate raging today over whether John McCain cares how long our troops stay in Iraq or if Barack Obama has a birth certificate, it’s easy to lose track of little things like anniversaries. That’s why I’m here to remind you that today is June 11. Back in 1963, it was a day of considerable tension which centered on Presidential Proclamation 3542.
On this day in 1963, President John F. Kennedy issues presidential proclamation 3542, forcing Alabama Governor George Wallace to comply with federal court orders allowing two African-American students to register for the summer session at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The proclamation ordered Wallace and “all persons acting in concert with him” to “cease and desist” from obstructing justice.
On the morning of June 11, the day the students were expected to register, Wallace stood in front of the University of Alabama campus auditorium flanked by Alabama state troopers while cameras flashed and recorders from the press corps whirred. Kennedy, at the White House, and Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach, in Tuscaloosa, kept in touch by phone. When Wallace refused to let the students enter for registration, Katzenbach phoned Kennedy. Kennedy upped the pressure on Wallace, immediately issuing Presidential Proclamation 3542, which ordered the governor to comply, and authorizing the secretary of defense to call up the Alabama National Guard with Executive Order 11111. That afternoon, Katzenbach returned with the students and asked Wallace to step aside. Wallace, knowing he was beaten, relented, having saved face with his hard-line, anti-segregation constituency. Three days later, a third black student registered at the University of Alabama campus in Huntsville without interference.
I would ask you to take a moment and think about this. The event in question took place in 1963. That was 45 years ago… well within the lifespan of many readers (as well as the author) and is really only a heartbeat ago in the history of our species. On that day a seated State Governor in the United States stood in a university doorway and dared the President to force him to allow “the darkies” into the hallowed halls of higher education.
Today a debate rages about whether or not a black man should be elected president of this country. And to our credit – at least in the more intelligent quarters – the argument centers on the experience and policy positions of the candidates. And some of the people who witnessed the first argument are here today to witness the most recent.
Give yourselves a pat on the back. The road is long and there is more to travel, but we’ve certainly come a long way.