This week's newsletter is inspired by an original song I heard this month at a gathering of songwriters who are using music to depolarize America (more on that in a future newsletter). It told the true story of two bitter political rivals in the USA at a time that was arguably more contentious than ours. It was 1972, and both George Wallace and Shirley Chisholm were seeking the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. He was the Governor of Alabama and a white supremacist and she was the first black woman to ever serve in the US Congress. When a would-be assassin shot him down and paralyzed him, she responded with kindness that shocked him, angered her supporters, and changed the course of history.
Early this week, there was another assassination attempt on Republican nominee Donald Trump. I find myself thinking that right now, the world needs some more Shirley Chisholms. So, I'm writing the true story of Shirley and George in the form of an outline for a musical. Of course, this musical does not actually exist, but I think it should. It lends itself to a beautiful mix of music in blues, country, gospel and spirituals. There could be stage combat and some really fun choreography as well. I’m hoping this outline lights a fire in others' imaginations and hearts.
AMAZING GRACE IN ALABAMA
Act I Scene 1: The opening number recounts George Wallace’s 1958 bid for Alabama Governor on a platform of fairness for all. A black lawyer reports that Wallace never pays attention to race in the courtroom and is the only judge who gives him the respect they usually reserve for white lawyers: calling him “mister” instead of by his first name. Various folk sing about his promises of good roads and good schools, while Ku Klux Klansmen urge people to vote for rival John Patterson, who’s going to put “Negroes” back in their place at the back of the bus.
When the votes are counted up, Wallace has been narrowly defeated. Patterson’s supporters sing another verse about how Alabama’s going to show those meddlers in Washington what’s what.
Scene 2: Wallace is debriefing with close associates about where he went wrong. He realizes that being endorsed by the NAACP actually hurt him in a state where poll taxes and literacy tests have barred most blacks from being able to vote.
Ku Klux Klansman Asa Carter enters, challenges Wallace’s views, and coaxes him into declaring that black people are an inferior race and segregation is better for both peoples. Wallace sings his I Want song: "WHATEVER IT TAKES" vowing that next election he’s going to make Patterson look like the milquetoast.
Scene 3: (1958) In Brooklyn, 34-year-old Shirley Chisholm gets told to keep quiet and let the men decide at a meeting of the black-dominated Bed-Stuy Political League. She sings a Blues song, “THE BOYS CLUB”. Then, she and all the rest of the women walk out.
Scene 4: (1963) Wallace and his team start on the campaign trail, singing “SIMPLY SEGREGATION” about state rights and Southern culture under attack from communists and northern bureaucrats. Freedom riders enter, bloodied and battered, with a counter melody “WE SHALL OVERCOME”. The song ends with Wallace being sworn in as Governor, and delivering the famous line from his inauguration speech: “Segregation now. Segregation tomorrow. Segregation forever!”
Scene 5: (March 7, 1965) Dallas County Sheriff Jim Clark deputizes every white man over the age of 21 to stop protestors from marching through Dallas on their way to demand protection of their right to vote from Governor Wallace. School board members boast of firing black teachers who tried to register, others boast about beating would-be voters. Someone asks whether the Governor has their back. Clark says that Wallace has ordered them to “use whatever measures are necessary to prevent a march.” Protestors enter from behind the audience, singing “WE SHALL OVERCOME” As they make their way onto the stage, they are ordered to stop and told they have two minutes to disband. The protestors kneel to pray. Troopers fire tear gas (the stage fills with fog) and start beating the protestors about the head while journalists catch it all on film. Scene ends with several protestors unconscious on the ground.
Scene 6: A spiritual is sung, interspersed with horrified reactions from all over the nation. Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson passes the Voting Rights Act and vows to use federal troops to protect Alabama blacks as they register to vote.
Scene 7: (1972) Shirley Chisholm negotiates with Black Panther Huey Newton for his party’s endorsement of her bid for the Democratic nomination for president. She knows she can’t win. But if she gets enough votes on the first ballot, she can negotiate with one of the front runners to get concessions in exchange for her delegates. Newton thinks she’s crazy and conventional politics are useless. She sings “IF YOU CAN’T GET A SEAT AT THE TABLE, BRING A FOLDING CHAIR,” in which she recounts her legislative successes as well as recent death threats and a foiled attack by a knife-wielding assailant. Newton agrees to endorse her.
Scene 8: Governor Wallace is in an office where we see memorabilia from his most recent gubernatorial campaign, including a poster of seven black boys surrounding a white girl under the slogan “Wake Up Alabama! Blacks vow to take over Alabama.”
He fields a call from a reporter about his bid for the Democratic nomination. He declares that he’s always been a moderate on race. When the reporter is skeptical of that claim, he says you Northerners have never understood that segregation was not about racism; it was about state rights. Anyway, that’s all in the past. Alabama is no longer segregated.
Wallace hangs up the phone and heads off toward Maryland, singing an anthem with his campaign manager occasionally interjecting statistics about his lead in the polls in various states. They arrive at a shopping mall in Laurel, Maryland, where he waves, cameras flash, 5 gunshots are heard, and he crumples to the ground.
End of Act I
Act II, Scene 1: Shirley Chisholm instructs her campaign team to put a pause on her campaign. She’s flying to Alabama to visit George Wallace, who has been shot and paralyzed. George Wallace?! There is anger that she would kowtow to an oppressor. She sings that “TO BE A LEADER” means always remembering everyone’s humanity and believing in their power to change.
Scene 2: George, with his family around him, hears that Shirley is coming to visit and worries about how he can face her. When she arrives he says, “What are your people going to say about your coming here?”
She replies, “I know what they’re going to say, but I wouldn’t want what happened to you to happen to anyone.” She takes his hand and they sing “PEACE AND HEALING” together. George is sobbing at the end of the song. After she leaves, he compares her behaviour to his own and wonders how he could have thought blacks were an inferior race.
Scene 3: (1974) Congresswoman Chisholm calls Governor Wallace, now in a wheelchair, asking his support on some legislation to extend the minimum wage to domestic workers. He agrees to talk with Southern congressmen and get her the votes she needs.
Scene 4: (1979) George Wallace is wheeled into Dexter Ave Church in Montgomery (where Martin Luther King had been the pastor). He says he used to be focused on power and glory. Now, he's seeking love and forgiveness. “I’ve learned what suffering means. I think I can understand something of the pain that black people have come to endure. I know I contributed to that pain and I can only ask for your forgiveness.” As he leaves, the congregation erupts into a version of “AMAZING GRACE” that starts out reverent and builds to exuberant.
Scene 5: (1982) The radio announces that Wallace has won the election for Alabama Governor for a fourth term, this time with 90% of the black vote. The entire cast sings "STRENGTH TO LOVE" while various characters interject with details of his final term in office, including his appointing record numbers of black Americans to state office.
CURTAIN
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See you next week!
If you want to check out some of my sources for this information, here are some of the most helpful links:
This one is the best because it includes the perspectives of George Wallace's daughter and a protegeé of Shirley Chisholm's. Unfortunately, it's behind a paywall, but you might be able to access it for free from the May 16, 2019 episode of the Capehart podcast. Here's a link to that on Apple Podcasts.
This includes Wallace's daughter's opinion that Shirley's visit was what started her father's softening.
Here's a timeline of the civil rights movement.
Here is a general background and the story from Interfaith America.