June 11, 1963

via

Today is the 50th anniversary of Alabama Governor George Wallace's "Stand in the Schoolhouse Door" and the successful integration of The University of Alabama by James Hood and Vivian Malone. Wallace blocked the door to Foster Auditorium, where UA students registered for classes, until he was forced to move by the Alabama National Guard under orders from President Kennedy. 

Vivian Malone Jones and James Hood via

"The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened." - John F. Kennedy 

Autherine Lucy was the first African American enrolled at The University of Alabama in 1956, but she was expelled after just three days. 

Read more about how The University of Alabama is commemorating this anniversary with Through the Doors. 

Further reading on this subject: The Schoolhouse Door: Segregation's Last Stand at The University of Alabama by E. Culpepper Clark and Opening the Doors: The Desegregation of The University of Alabama and the fight for Civil Rights in Tuscaloosa by B.J. Hollars. 

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During my time as a student at Alabama, I was able to see a closed Foster Auditorium come to life again as the home of women's basketball and volleyball and have been able to walk through the doors myself. 

I have also heard B.J. Hollars speak twice on his books. 

S-ART-urday (Jasper Johns)

I have really been drawn to this Jasper Johns piece recently.

Map, 1961 via

I love this piece because you can obviously tell what it is, but there is still a sense of flexibility and chaos in the borders, really melting the states together in a way. It's very fitting for my life right now because I am about to start working for Pi Beta Phi as a traveling Leadership Development Consultant. I will be traveling the country visiting college campuses to support Pi Phi's collegiate chapters with recruitment, leadership development, chapter organization, or officer education. I am more than excited to start this journey with the nine other women selected as LDCs! I think the key to enjoying this year will really be to relish flexibility and understand that things aren't always going to happen the way you planned them. This is something I have really been trying to work on with my type A personality, so I am excited for what this year will bring!

Just to get an idea of the size of the work via

Jasper Johns was born on May 15, 1930 in Augusta, Georgia. He was raised in South Carolina and moved to New York City at the age of 18. Johns often paints simple everyday objects and has been known to blur the lines separating art and reality.

Flag, 1954

Target with Four Faces, 1955 

Three Flags, 1958

Souvenir, 1970

Scent, 1975-76

Land's End, 1978

Voice 2, 1982

Summer, 1985