Vivian Malone Jones

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Vivian Malone Jones (born Vivian Juanita Malone on July 15, 1942, in Mobile, Alabama) was an African-American female, one of the first two African-Americans to enroll at the University of Alabama in 1963 and was made famous when Alabama Governor George Wallace tried to block them from entering, triggering a showdown with federal troops. She became the first African-American to graduate from the University of Alabama.

She was catapulted into the national spotlight on June 11, 1963, when, accompanied by federal marshals and the assistant U.S. Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach, she attempted to register for classes at the all-white university. She was barred from doing so when Alabama Governor George Wallace made his infamous "Stand in the Schoolhouse Door" in an attempt to prevent racial integration of Alabama schools. Ultimately, Wallace stood aside and Malone was allowed to enroll. Two years later, she received a Bachelor of Arts in business management and joined the civil rights division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

In 1996, she retired as director of civil rights and urban affairs and director of environmental justice for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In October 1996, she was chosen by the George Wallace Family Foundation to be the first recipient of its Lurleen B. Wallace Award of Courage. At the ceremony, Wallace said, "Vivian Malone Jones was at the center of the fight over states' rights and conducted herself with grace, strength and, above all, courage." In 2000, the University of Alabama bestowed on her a doctorate of humane letters.

Vivian Malone Jones died in Atlanta, Georgia of stroke complications on October 13, 2005. Her funeral services were held at the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse College. She was married to Mack Jones, a physician, who died in 2004. She is survived by a son, a daughter, three grandchildren, four sisters and three brothers.