Chasing a Birthright: The departure of James A. Hood
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Abstract: The city of Tuscaloosa, Alabama in the summer of 1963 is the site where history would be made, but surprisingly this time it would not be for football. Instead two young African American students would await the ruling of Judge Hobart H. Grooms on whether or not they would be challenged with the immeasurable task of integrating The University of Alabama, successfully, for the first time. Those two students would be Vivian Malone, and the subject of the documentary James A. Hood. With the promise from their Governor, George Wallace, “Segregation today, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever” it was hard to expect a positive outcome. But it is always helpful to expect the unexpected.
Though this documentary is taking a look at the dark past of this institution, it peeks into the present and gives the audience a sense of how things change over time. Has integration of The University of Alabama changed the way that black and white individuals interact with each other, or has it just put a bandage over a problem that continues to present itself on campus not just occasionally but every day?
The encompassing view of the documentary, Chasing a Birth Right is to convey the temperament of campus during James Hood’s first months at The University of Alabama. From application to withdraw. What happened in those short few months that caused James and The University to part ways? As The University of Alabama’s first black male student, James Hood was not exactly invited in with open arms during that fateful summer of 1963. What started as a mere ploy for inclusion and the permission to further his education in life became a constant battle. Just as Autherine Lucy in 1956, James Hood cited mental and physical fatigue as his reasoning for not continuing his studies at The University of Alabama. But after the battle fought just to set foot on campus, what could have caused his departure after just three short months.
Should one be willing to sacrifice their mental health and all around wellbeing for the sake of being a pillar for change and progression? Though the road was undoubtedly going to be a long one, luckily for James Hood he did not have to walk that road alone. With Vivian Malone, James Hood changed The University of Alabama and higher education in the south forever. The weight of that kind of responsibility is heavier than anything anyone should bear, but if the James Hood had not made the decision to be the first African American male student at The University of Alabama and to take on all of the hardships that were waiting for him after the decision aforementioned there may have been a very different and much darker fate for the future of The University of Alabama. Chasing a Birthright is consistently shot in black and white to place the audience back to a time when seeing black and whites interact was an occurrence that only happened on a television set.
Word Count: 499
Bibliography:
"The Case of The Tape," The Crimson White [Tuscaloosa], August 8, 1963: 4. Print.
"A Model for the Nation." The Crimson White [Tuscaloosa] September 26, 1963: 19. Print.
Wallace Resists Integration University of Alabama 1963. Perf. James Hood and Vivian Malone, YouTube, January 29, 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5I4R07pp9k.
A Confrontation for Integration at the University of Alabama," Book Archive, Feb. 26, 2013, YouTube, accessed on Apr. 19, 2017.
George Wallace, "Segregation Forever Speech," YouTube. N.p., accessed on April 19, 2017.
"James Hood: Breaking Barriers," Gadsden Times, March 8, 2011, YouTube, accessed on April 19, 2017. https://youtu.be/MWSm0qtg6AY.
Though this documentary is taking a look at the dark past of this institution, it peeks into the present and gives the audience a sense of how things change over time. Has integration of The University of Alabama changed the way that black and white individuals interact with each other, or has it just put a bandage over a problem that continues to present itself on campus not just occasionally but every day?
The encompassing view of the documentary, Chasing a Birth Right is to convey the temperament of campus during James Hood’s first months at The University of Alabama. From application to withdraw. What happened in those short few months that caused James and The University to part ways? As The University of Alabama’s first black male student, James Hood was not exactly invited in with open arms during that fateful summer of 1963. What started as a mere ploy for inclusion and the permission to further his education in life became a constant battle. Just as Autherine Lucy in 1956, James Hood cited mental and physical fatigue as his reasoning for not continuing his studies at The University of Alabama. But after the battle fought just to set foot on campus, what could have caused his departure after just three short months.
Should one be willing to sacrifice their mental health and all around wellbeing for the sake of being a pillar for change and progression? Though the road was undoubtedly going to be a long one, luckily for James Hood he did not have to walk that road alone. With Vivian Malone, James Hood changed The University of Alabama and higher education in the south forever. The weight of that kind of responsibility is heavier than anything anyone should bear, but if the James Hood had not made the decision to be the first African American male student at The University of Alabama and to take on all of the hardships that were waiting for him after the decision aforementioned there may have been a very different and much darker fate for the future of The University of Alabama. Chasing a Birthright is consistently shot in black and white to place the audience back to a time when seeing black and whites interact was an occurrence that only happened on a television set.
Word Count: 499
Bibliography:
"The Case of The Tape," The Crimson White [Tuscaloosa], August 8, 1963: 4. Print.
"A Model for the Nation." The Crimson White [Tuscaloosa] September 26, 1963: 19. Print.
Wallace Resists Integration University of Alabama 1963. Perf. James Hood and Vivian Malone, YouTube, January 29, 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5I4R07pp9k.
A Confrontation for Integration at the University of Alabama," Book Archive, Feb. 26, 2013, YouTube, accessed on Apr. 19, 2017.
George Wallace, "Segregation Forever Speech," YouTube. N.p., accessed on April 19, 2017.
"James Hood: Breaking Barriers," Gadsden Times, March 8, 2011, YouTube, accessed on April 19, 2017. https://youtu.be/MWSm0qtg6AY.
