Stand in the Schoolhouse Door

On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down its decision regarding the case called Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, in which the plaintiffs charged that the education of black children in separate public schools from their white counterparts was unconstitutional.

Brown v. Board of Education meant that the University of Alabama had to be desegregated. In the years following, hundreds of African-Americans applied for admission, but all were denied. The University worked with police to find any disqualifying qualities, or when this failed, intimidated the applicants. But in 1963, three African-Americans with perfect qualifications—Vivian Malone Jones, Dave McGlathery and James Hood—applied, refusing to be intimidated. In early June a federal district judge ordered that they be admitted,[3] and forbade Governor Wallace from interfering

On June 11, Vivian Malone and James Hood arrived to register. Wallace, attempting to uphold his promise as well as for political show,[4] blocked the entrance to Foster Auditorium with the media watching. Then, flanked by federal marshals, Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach told Wallace to step aside.[5][1] However, Wallace cut Katzenbach off and refused, giving a speech on States' rights.[4] Katzenbach called President John F. Kennedy, who federalized the Alabama National 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." Wallace then spoke further, but eventually moved, and Malone and Hood registered as students.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stand_in_the_Schoolhouse_Door

Vivian Juanita Malone Jones (July 15, 1942, in Mobile, Alabama – October 13, 2005 in Atlanta, Georgia) was an African-American woman, one of the first two African Americans to enroll at the University of Alabama in 1963 and the university's first African American graduate. She was made famous when Alabama Governor George Wallace blocked them from enrolling at the all-white university

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivian_Malone_Jones

Eric Holder is married to Dr. Sharon Malone, an obstetrician; the couple has three children. Malone's sister was Vivian Malone Jones, famous for her part in the [link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stand_in_the_Schoolhouse_Door |Stand in the Schoolhouse Door] which led to integration at the University of Alabama...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Holder