Alum Peggy Wallace Kennedy will present the Nell Peel Wolfe lecture at The W on Thursday, April 6 at 6 p.m. in Nissan Auditorium.
The daughter of former Alabama Gov. George Wallace, Kennedy attended the university in the late 1960s as it was being integrated.
Her lecture will be presented as part of the Forum Series sponsored by the Gordy Honors College and will also be the culminating event in the university’s year-long commemoration of the 50th anniversary of its desegregation.
Kennedy was 13 when in 1963 her father famously made his “stand in the schoolhouse door,” attempting to block two black students from enrolling at the University of Alabama.
She grew to adulthood without an explanation from her father for his actions. Later, as a mother and educator, she came to see that by finding her own voice and working for racial reconciliation, she could counter his earlier philosophy and tactics.
Since then, Kennedy has delivered addresses across the country, made many media appearances, and worked with civil rights figures such as Congressman John Lewis and the Rev. Bernice King, daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King, including in multiple events to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights march.
She has received, among other awards, the Rosa Parks Legacy Award given by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Woman of Courage Award from the Emmitt Till Legacy Foundation.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Kim Whitehead at [email protected], 662-241-6850 or visit web.muw.edu/honors/forum.
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