| Birth: | Nov. 10, 1942
Gadsden
Etowah County
Alabama, USA | | Death: | Jan. 17, 2013
Gadsden
Etowah County
Alabama, USA | 
Social Reformer. He received his formal education in the public school system and also attended Clark College in Atlanta, Georgia until 1961. He became involved with the civil rights movement while he was attending Clark University in Atlanta. In defiance of racial segregation he decided to enroll at the University of Alabama which was a segregated school at that time, showing courage and conviction as one of the first black students to ever register there. On June 11, 1963, Hood and fellow enrollee, Vivian Malone, were accompanied to the university by Justice Department Representative Deputy United States Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach and several federal marshals. Alabama's governor at that time, George Wallace, and state police officials, tried to keep Hood and Malone from registering for classes by physically blocking the university doors as they made an attempt to enter Foster Auditorium to register for the summer term. This action by Governor Wallace would later become known as the "Stand in the Schoolhouse Door" by the press. Persuaded by Katzenbach to allow Hood and Malone to enter, Governor Wallace eventually backed down and they were both able to register for classes later that same day. After enrolling, he remained at the University of Alabama for several months, but then decided to move to Michigan, where he received a bachelor's degree from Wayne State University and then later a master's degree from Michigan State. However, his connection to the University of Alabama continued when he returned there in 1995 to work on his doctorate, which he earned in 1997. After he returned to Alabama and began researching the events of his past for his doctorate, he contacted and subsequently met with former governor George Wallace many times at Wallace's home. The two of them eventually developed an unusual friendship and a bond that would last until Wallace's death. He had hoped that Wallace, who was ill and bedridden at the time, would be well enough to present his doctorate to him at the university's graduation ceremony in 1997, but unfortunately the former governor was not able to travel. After receiving his doctorate, he moved to Wisconsin, where he worked at the Madison Area Technical College for 26 years. He retired in 2002 and moved back to Gadsden, Alabama. (bio by: Preserving the Past)
Family links:
Parents:
Octavie Hood (1919 - 1963)
Search Amazon for James Hood | | | Burial:
Pleasant Gap Cemetery
Pleasant Gap
Cherokee County
Alabama, USA |
Maintained by: Find A Grave
Originally Created by: Preserving the Past
Record added: Jan 18, 2013
Find A Grave Memorial# 103767435 |
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