VOA标准英语2014--Controversial Alabama Governor's Daughter Promotes Racial Tolerance

 

Controversial Alabama Governor's Daughter Promotes Racial Tolerance¹ 

MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA — February is Black History Month in the United States -- a time to pay tribute to events that helped shape the history of African Americans.  A pivotal moment in that history happened 51 years ago, after two African-American students became the first to be admitted to an all-white university in the southern U.S. state of Alabama. 

The move came despite efforts by Alabama's then-Governor George Wallace to prevent the school's integration², in defiance³ of federal government orders. 

The daughter of the controversial governor is now speaking out about the dark chapters of civil rights history in a quest to promote racial harmony.

"It stained Alabama, of course, but it stained him for the rest of his life," said Peggy Wallace, who recalls the painful legacies⁴ of her father and the mark he left on a racially-divided southern state five decades ago. 

Running as a segregationist⁶, George Wallace took office in 1963, pledging to maintain a way of life in Alabama.

"I say segregation⁵ now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever," he said.

At the height of the civil rights movement, Wallace defiantly⁷ defended state and local laws that sought to keep blacks and whites separated in schools, restaurants and many other public places. He gained worldwide attention when he tried to block two black students from attending the all-white University of Alabama.  

Peggy Wallace -- just 13 years old at the time -- recalls the impact of her father's actions.

"The rest of the world, when they saw his name or a picture of him, there’s an asterisk⁸ by his name or picture: 'That’s the man who stood in the Schoolhouse Door, that blocked the two African-American students from entering that university,'” she said.

Confronted by federal authorities with a court order, Wallace finally stepped aside and the black students entered the school.

Peggy Wallace married and raised a family -- rarely speaking about her father until the election of Barack Obama as the nation's first black president in 2008.

"I decided⁹ that day that I had to do something, you know," she said. "I had to stand for something, leave a legacy¹⁰ to both of my children.  And that was later on in my years, but I was able to find my own voice and step away from the shadow of the Schoolhouse Door."

Now Wallace is doing all she can to erase¹¹ the bigotry¹² her father promoted by advocating racial tolerance.  For the last several years, she has joined forces with black civil rights activists¹³ in commemorating¹⁴ a bloody¹⁵ siege on a bridge in Selma, Alabama.  It's where her father ordered state police to brutally¹⁶ attack civil rights marchers.  Crossing the bridge years later, Wallace even joined hands with Congressman¹⁷ John Lewis who was beaten by police there nearly 50 years ago.

"They came toward us beating us with night sticks, tramping us with horses, releasing the tear gas.  I was hit in the head by a state trooper with a night stick.  I had a concussion¹⁸ at the bridge.  I thought I was going to die," Lewis said.

"Well for me, it was that journey with John Lewis, it was a turning point for me in my life," she said.  "He teaches and lives love and reconciliation¹⁹, and I don’t think I’m rubbing anything off the asterisk [that my father left] but I would like to think that."

 

Peggy Wallace is now writing a book about coming out of the shadows of her father's legacy.  She also speaks to young people hoping to foster racial reconciliation, not the bigotry her father promoted in the 1960s.

1 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

2 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

3 defiance   

n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗

参考例句：

• He climbed the ladder in defiance of the warning.他无视警告爬上了那架梯子。
• He slammed the door in a spirit of defiance.他以挑衅性的态度把门砰地一下关上。

4 legacies   

n.遗产( legacy的名词复数 )；遗留之物；遗留问题；后遗症

参考例句：

• Books are the legacies that a great genius leaves to mankind. 书是伟大的天才留给人类的精神财富。 来自辞典例句
• General legacies are subject to the same principles as demonstrative legacies. 一般的遗赠要与指定数目的遗赠遵循同样的原则。 来自辞典例句

5 segregation   

n.隔离，种族隔离

参考例句：

• Many school boards found segregation a hot potato in the early 1960s.在60年代初，许多学校部门都觉得按水平分班是一个棘手的问题。
• They were tired to death of segregation and of being kicked around.他们十分厌恶种族隔离和总是被人踢来踢去。

6 segregationist   

隔离主义者

参考例句：

• Recent federal action undermined the segregationist position. 近期的联邦行动消弱了隔离主义者的地位。

7 defiantly   

adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地

参考例句：

• Braving snow and frost, the plum trees blossomed defiantly. 红梅傲雪凌霜开。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 asterisk   

n.星号，星标

参考例句：

• The asterisk refers the reader to a footnote.星号是让读者参看脚注。
• He added an asterisk to the first page.他在第一页上加了个星号。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

11 erase   

v.擦掉；消除某事物的痕迹

参考例句：

• He tried to erase the idea from his mind.他试图从头脑中抹掉这个想法。
• Please erase my name from the list.请把我的名字从名单上擦去。

12 bigotry   

n.偏见，偏执，持偏见的行为[态度]等

参考例句：

• She tried to dissociate herself from the bigotry in her past.她力图使自己摆脱她以前的偏见。
• At least we can proceed in this matter without bigotry.目前这件事咱们至少可以毫无偏见地进行下去。

13 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 commemorating   

v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was presented with a scroll commemorating his achievements. 他被授予一幅卷轴，以表彰其所做出的成就。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The post office issued a series commemorating famous American entertainers. 邮局发行了一个纪念美国著名演艺人员的系列邮票。 来自互联网

15 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

16 brutally   

adv.残忍地，野蛮地，冷酷无情地

参考例句：

• The uprising was brutally put down.起义被残酷地镇压下去了。
• A pro-democracy uprising was brutally suppressed.一场争取民主的起义被残酷镇压了。

17 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

18 concussion   

n.脑震荡；震动

参考例句：

• He was carried off the field with slight concussion.他因轻微脑震荡给抬离了现场。
• She suffers from brain concussion.她得了脑震荡。

19 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。