By the time Hood attended college, the
University of Alabama was a segregated all-white school where at least 230 black students had applied only to have their applications rejected. The university did not state that these denials were due to race, instead using various excuses: enrollment was too high, applications had already closed, or applicants did not meet certain requirements. However, the community understood that the university would not admit any black students because of resistance to school desegregation. In 1952,
Autherine Lucy and
Pollie Myers had been the first black students accepted to the university, but their admissions were revoked when the school learned the students were not white. The
NAACP supported Lucy and Myers in years of court cases against the university until the
U.S. Supreme Court ordered the university to admit the pair. However, the university again denied Myers admission, and three days after Lucy arrived at school, mobs of white community members led a violent riot against her, allowing the university to permanently suspend her on the pretext of student safety.
Applying to the university While Hood attended Clark College, he was angered by a racist article he read in the
Atlanta Journal, from the
Associated Press. The article shared a study which concluded that black people were less intelligent than white people. The research was conducted by a professor from the
University of North Carolina, and sponsored by
George Wallace's campaign for Governor of Alabama. The study concluded that black people had smaller brains than white people, and cited the test scores and graduation rates of Alabama high schools, including Hood's. Hood was angry enough to write the professor a letter with his critiques, but the professor responded that Hood could not respond to the work because Hood did not have the right academic credentials. Hood decided to engage in more civil rights activism as a consequence. Hood learned about his acceptance when it was published in the newspaper and strangers accosted him at a Greyhound bus station. FBI agents arrived at the station and asked him to join them so they could protect his safety, but Hood was afraid that they could be impersonators. The agents called President
John F. Kennedy to speak to Hood and verify their identities, and Hood began living under the protection of federal marshals. When
James Meredith had integrated the
University of Mississippi the year before, violent mobs of white community members started the
Ole Miss Riot. Administrators from the University of Alabama and
Tuscaloosa city officials attempted to mitigate similar violence. One week before the pair's registration, the
Ku Klux Klan staged a cross burning near campus. After seeing that Wallace would not step aside, Katzenbach called upon the assistance of President Kennedy to force Wallace to permit the black students' entry into the university. President Kennedy federalized the
Alabama National Guard later the same day, which put them under the command of the President, rather than the Governor of Alabama. Guardsmen escorted Hood and Malone back to the auditorium, where Wallace moved aside at the request of
General Henry Graham. Hood and Malone then entered the building, albeit through another door.
Attending the university Hood faced threats of violence and ostracism at the University of Alabama. He had an escort of federal marshals and had to carefully plan regular activities. In Hood's dormitory, every other room on his floor was occupied by federal marshals rather than students. Hood received threatening phone calls at night and saw hostile posters around campus.
Leaving the university In July 1963, Hood returned to East Gadsden to respond to the backlash over his editorial, and spoke during a rally at the First Baptist Church. He was critical of the University of Alabama and Governor Wallace, and unaware that two reporters were recording him until he was far into his speech. Several weeks later, Wallace's office worked with university officials to expel Hood, using the taped speech and earlier editorial as grounds for dismissal. Between the disciplinary proceedings, Hood delivered a signed apology to the Dean of Men at the school. However, the school remained very likely to expel him, via the same reasoning they had used to expel Autherine Lucy earlier. Hood left the university in August, with civil rights attorney
Arthur Shores sending the university a letter on August 11, 1963 stating that Hood would withdraw for his health. His doctor had told him that the heavy stress he was under was physically harming him. He felt crushing guilt over the impact his enrollment and fame had on his family. Additionally, his father had cancer, and Hood felt guilty about not helping to support his parents. Hood stated that he left the school to avoid a "complete mental and physical breakdown." The university was happy to have Hood withdraw this way because it did not face a public and embarrassing fight to expel Hood. == Later life ==