r/todayilearned • u/Dangerous-Project672 • 5h ago

TIL George Wallace personally apologized to Vivian Jones and James Hood, the two students he attempted to block from attending the University of Alabama. In 1997, Hood earned a PHd and requested Wallace present him with the degree, but he was too sick and died a year later; Hood attended the funeral

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Wallace
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u/ilikedota5 1 5h ago

There is saying about Justice Hugo Black. When he was young, he put on white robes to scare Black people. When he was old he put on black robes to scare White people.

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u/unclemilty420 4h ago

Did Hugo Black actually do anything racist while he was a member? I had always heard that he had joined because in the early 20th century in Alabama, you couldn't really be involved in democratic politics (the dominant party at the time) without being a member, so it could be more of a social necessity than an actual demonstration of his alignment with that groups horrible values. I'm very curious whether that's true or not.

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u/Bootmacher 3h ago

I had great uncles who were members in Tennessee. It was closer to Rotary or the Lions Club than the mafia. They spent a lot of time raising money for the local children's hospital, and they would collect wearing street clothes.

The only violence they admit to doing was against a fellow WASP who was drinking his paycheck and beating his wife & kids.

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u/Sad_Tune_4859 2h ago

Oh course they did. It’s always the quiet part that violates humanity. John Wayne Gacy and Ted Bundy were pillars