George Wallace came on the scene and won the governor’s
office with the most anti-integration rhetoric in history. He threw down the gauntlet
with his January 1963 inaugural speech declaring, “Segregation today,
segregation tomorrow and segregation forever.” White Alabamians shouted their
approval.
Wallace’ symbolic stand in the schoolhouse door
later that year, however, was a futile attempt at defying the federal
government. The U.S. Supreme Court had already decided that ‘separate but
equal’ schools were unconstitutional. In essence, Wallace was tilting at windmills
or in southern jargon, barking at the moon. Wallace’s barking was so loud that
he probably brought on integration and civil rights ten years earlier than it
otherwise would have occurred.
Lyndon Johnson had been a southern U.S. Senator from
Texas. He had fought all civil rights legislation with as zealous an effort as
the other bloc of southern senators. This southern bloc of U.S. Senators
totally controlled the Senate through their seniority and prowess. They were a
formidable coalition. However, Lyndon had now become a national politician. He
had ascended to the presidency at the death of John Kennedy and aspired to win
the brass ring on his own in 1964.
When Lyndon Johnson set his sights on something it
was not wise for anyone to get in his way. Whatever it took or by whatever
means necessary, Lyndon Johnson was determined to win.
Johnson called George Wallace to the White House to
meet with him. Wallace was cocky and full of vim and vinegar. At barely 5’8” he
was like a bantam rooster. Although he was used to being the cock of the walk,
it did not take long for the tall, tough, crude, intimidating Johnson to put
Wallace in his place.
Johnson scowled at Wallace and told him he was
nothing more than a redneck, tin horn demagogue and he could shout segregation
and racist jargon as much as he wanted but it was not going to make a bit of
difference. Johnson went on to say that by the end of the year he was going to
pass a civil rights bill and sign it. He told Wallace that Strom Thurmond and his
allies could filibuster all they wanted but at the end of the day it was going
to be the law of the land and it was going to propel Johnson to victory in
1964. Wallace came back to Alabama with his hat in hand. He knew Johnson meant
business.
The bill passed and Johnson signed it. Being a
southerner Lyndon Johnson knew the ramifications when he signed the Civil
Rights Act. He looked up and said, I have just signed the South over to the
Republican Party. His words were prophetic.
Later that year, Johnson won the presidency in a
landslide. He carried practically every state in the nation except the five
Deep South states. We voted for Republican Barry Goldwater. We have not looked
back. Johnson’s prognostication rings true 50 years later.
In 1965, Johnson set his sights on a higher goal and
passed the Voting Rights Act. He took aim at the Deep South and bestowed his
renowned retribution extraction in Section 4B and Section 5. It requires that
those five states and certain regions that voted for Goldwater must have any
changes to their voting laws or procedures approved by the U.S. Justice
Department.
Now comes Alabama’s Shelby County and says this yoke
is no longer needed. Their lawyer is former State Senator Butch Ellis a highly
respected attorney. His grandfather, Handy Ellis, lost to Big Jim Folsom in the
1946 governor’s race.
Ellis argues that “The South is not the same old
South that it was.” Surprisingly, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear the
Shelby County case. Shelby County is a well-heeled suburban county south of
Birmingham. It is 85% white and can
afford the cost of litigating this issue before the highest Court in the land.
The NAACP and black residents in Shelby County say
the law is still needed to protect their voting rights. Birmingham Rep.
Demetrius Newton, who was the first African American Speaker Pro Tem of the
Alabama House of Representatives, believes there are still efforts to limit the
power of minorities.
The Supreme Court will hear the case this week and
will more than likely decide this year whether Shelby County, Alabama and the
Deep South can be removed from the preclearance requirement of the Voting
Rights Act of 1965. We shall see.
See you next week.
About the author: Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading
political columnist. His column appears weekly in more than 70 Alabama
newspapers. Steve served 16 years in the state legislature. He may be reached
at http://www.steveflowers.us.
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