Foster Auditorium was the site of the June 11, 1963, “stand in the schoolhouse door,” when Governor George C. Wallace defied a court order requiring The University of Alabama to admit African-American students Vivian Malone and James Hood. President John F. Kennedy placed the Alabama National Guard under federal control to enforce the order as Wallace refused to obey. Wallace then stepped aside, and the students registered for class. That night, Kennedy went on television to declare civil rights not simply a legal issue but a moral issue and appealed to the nation’s sense of fairness. One week later, he submitted a comprehensive civil rights bill that became the foundation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Foster Auditorium, built in 1939, was named for Richard Clarke Foster, who as president of The University of Alabama from 1937 to 1941 raised academic standards and encouraged faculty and graduate research.