"Schoolhouse Door" Participant, Vivian Malone Jones Addresses UA Graduates

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. —Vivian Malone Jones, The University of Alabama’s first African-American graduate, spoke Saturday to the 1,100 members of The University of Alabama’s summer graduation class.

"If there is any lesson for the graduates to take from my experience, it is that you must always be ready to seize the moment," said Jones. The experience she refers to occurred when she enrolled at UA on June 11, 1963, following Gov. George Wallace’s unsuccessful "stand in the schoolhouse door."

"When I arrived here, years of preparation had gone into making it happen. I had been active in my own community’s efforts to end segregation. … I then studied for two years at Alabama A&M, before answering the call that would lead me to the schoolhouse door at this University, where, two years later, I would become its first African-American graduate," said Jones, who received an honorary doctorate of humane letters degree at the ceremony.

"Thirty-five years ago, by attending The University of Alabama, I had the privilege of representing all those who fought for simple justice," said Jones.

"There will come a day in your life when you must act for others–your family, perhaps your community–and you must be ready. What you have done to reach this milestone today is part of that preparation. So take from all the books you have read, all the lessons you have learned, the certain knowledge that one day, any day, you must be bold, have courage, and walk through a door that leads to opportunity for others."

In 1996, Jones retired after more than 30 years in various federal government positions that culminated with her position as director of the Office of Environmental Justice of the Environmental Protection Agency. She currently works with the Atlanta Associates of MONY Life Insurance Company of America

With this graduating class, UA has awarded more than 175,000 degrees since its founding in 1831 as the state’s first public university.