On June 11, 1963, the Governor of Alabama, George Wallace, attempted to flout federal law and deny entrance to the University of Alabama to two black students who had been accepted. This documentary shows us the tense events of that day in a brilliant, stirring way. Aside from the momentous event itself, it works because of the unprecedented level of access it had into both sides - President Kennedy and Governor Wallace's inner circles - as well as its approach of simply being a fly on the wall. Aside from a few explanatory remarks occasionally made by the narrator, we see the events as they were, phone calls, brainstorming sessions, and all. The documentary has additional strength in just how specific it is - this one confrontation, not attempting to show the larger context or events which led up to it dating back centuries.
The two students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, were both just 20 years old at the time, and they're frankly awe-inspiring. To think of facing something like this at the age of 20 boggles the mind. When asked why they have to go to this school, Hood responds with great dignity, "Being a resident of the state, I feel that I'm entitled to an education in the state." What we see most from them is poise and quiet courage.
On the federal side, it was fantastic to see each man in his role operating so well: Nicholas Katzenbach, the deputy attorney general, who was on the ground in Alabama, phoning back to Washington D.C., a man who was very canny in helping to shape the strategy in confronting Wallace, and well controlled in delivering the message to his face. Robert Kenney, the attorney general, for the delicate balancing act he struck between enforcing the federal law to let these kids attend the university, and not using strong arm tactics which could have incited violence or given Wallace a public relations win. And of course, John F. Kennedy, who we only see a few times, thoughtful and taking inputs, but then delivering his leadership and his vision so eloquently (see the excerpt from his speech at the end). At the top, you see vision, in the middle, you see strategy, and on the ground you see execution - and each layer in full communication with and influencing the other, as a good organization should. Anyway, all of them, including the students of course, are heroes.
On the state side, what can I say? Wallace ran on a platform of segregation forever and while stating that he believed both races were better off apart, he doesn't attempt to justify the drastically worse conditions blacks had been living under over the past century. Portraits of confederate generals hang on the walls of his office, and he muses over their bravery for having stood up for what they believed is right. As for the Civil War, he says "There were just a lot more of them than there were of us," and by those pronouns and by his stand for "state's rights," it's crystal clear that a century after a rebellion over slavery ended, he represents a majority of people who never accepted that outcome. What's perhaps most frightening is the support we see him getting from white citizens of Alabama, young and old. He's not portrayed as a monster, we just see him as he is, playing with his grandkids, just as RFK plays with his kids, but his words are vile and obviously on the wrong side of history. However, one thing he got right was his ominous warning that the South would have its say during the next presidential election, and to this day, the region holds great power for the Republican Party. And to his credit, a couple of decades later, he recognized the error of his ways and apologized, though that's obviously not shown here.
This is just a fantastic little time capsule, and even for events you may be familiar with, it's well worth the 52 minutes it takes to watch it. Oh, and here's that quote from President Kennedy that night, pushing for what would become the Civil Rights Act the following year, and just five months before he was assassinated (the documentary aired on television just one month before that fateful day):
"I hope that every American will stop to examine his conscience about this and other related incidents. This nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.
We are confronted primarily with a moral issue. It is as old as the Scriptures and is as clear as the American Constitution. The heart of the question is whether all Americans are to be afforded equal rights and equal opportunities. Whether we are going to treat our fellow Americans as we want to be treated.
If an American, because his skin is dark, cannot enjoy the full and free life which all of us want, then who among us would be content to have the color of his skin changed and stand in his place? Who among us would be content with the counsels of patience and delay?
One hundred years of delay have passed since President Lincoln freed the slaves. Yet their heirs, their grandsons, are not fully free. They are not yet freed from the bonds of injustice. They are not yet freed from social and economic oppression. And this nation, for all its hopes and all its boasts, will not be fully free until all its citizens are free."
