My chapter made a historic statement by recreating The Stand in the Schoolhouse Door. I've talked about this occasion in the past. Vivian Malone and James Hood were the first African-Americans to enroll at The University of Alabama. Brown vs. Board of Education stated it was illegal for schools to disallow any minority from enrolling at a school because of their race.
This would lead to Vivian and James choosing to enroll at Alabama. Unfortunately, they were not met with open arms. On July 11, 1963 Governor George Wallace stood in front of Foster Auditorium and tried to stop Vivian and James from entering with Deputy Katzenbach. His motto was:
"Segregation now, Segregation Tomorrow, and Segregation Forever!"
Gov. Wallace backed finally backed down and allowed them to pass, but not without disdain from an overwhelming amount of people who were unwilling to see blacks enter The University of Alabama.
This should give you enough context to understand the preview video I made for the show.
My chapter did an amazing job marching, but I believe the biggest factor for our win was choosing a them e of substance. This idea was first brought up a year ago by one of my fraternity brothers. I kept it in my mind stewing over how I could bring this to life on stage and when the chapter gave me creative control, I went to work.
S/O to the Deltas for recording this for us. I had to work video and music controls so this was out of my hands.
I'd like to say thank you to everyone that made this happen. My friend Greg Kubick who played Deputy Katzenbach, Corey Smith as Gov. Wallace, Kandice Thompson as Vivian Malone, and all the Beta Eta bruhs who made the show possible.
I'm convinced we proved a show has to go beyond flashy videos or over the top steps. Sometimes you just need a powerful theme and a man behind the curtains putting it all together.
