Unsung Heroes of the Movement: Vivian Malone 🎓✊🏾 Vivian Malone’s name may not be in every textbook—but her impact reshaped the course of history. Denied admission to the University of Alabama because of segregation, Vivian fought back. Backed by the NAACP, she and fellow student James Hood challenged the system—and won. On June 11, 1963, she bravely walked through the schoolhouse door, past Governor George Wallace’s infamous stand, and into history. Two years later, she became the first African American graduate of the University of Alabama—proving that quiet courage can dismantle walls built by injustice. Vivian went on to work in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and later led environmental justice initiatives at the EPA. In 2000, she returned to her alma mater as a commencement speaker. Today, her legacy lives on at Malone-Hood Plaza—and in every young person who dares to follow the path she helped pave. Vivian Malone turned resistance into a doorway...