Vivian Malone Jones

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Malone registering for classes at University of Alabama

Vivian Juanita Malone Jones (July 15, 1942, in Mobile, Alabama - October 13, 2005 in Atlanta, Georgia) was an African-American woman, 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, the assistant U.S. Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach, and fellow African-American student James Hood 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.

Jones died of stroke complications at the age of 63. 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.