George Wallace, Jr. publishes book on his father, former Ala. governor

The son of former Governor George Wallace says the public perception of his father is wrong and wants to correct it. George Wallace Jr. has written a new book about his father.

"The more I wrote, the more I realize there was a man my father people never knew," Wallace said.

Wallace says his father was brought up to believe in segregation but the elder Wallace was a moderate on the issue until he was beaten in the race for governor by John Patterson in 1958.

"I think he resented and many people in the south resented we were called racist and he was not a racist, but it was a political matter he used segregation that people wanted at the time," Wallace said.

Wallace says his father made a Faustian deal to support segregation to get votes, which turned into a winning campaign for governor in 1963.

Wallace was a political giant who touched American voters with his campaign against an ever-growing federal government. Wallace ran for president but he was gunned down by Arthur Bremer in 1969. The shooting left Wallace paralyzed and in constant pain. Wallace says his father grew to sympathize for the less fortunate.

"The suffering he endured allowed him to understand the suffering of others--physical, social, economic suffering--in ways I would never know," Wallace said.

Wallace never condoned the violence which erupted with the Selma to Montgomery march and the 1963 16th St. Baptist Church bombing. Wallace says his father feared some of his rhetoric may have spurred others.

"So that heightened and strengthened his sense that perhaps the words he uttered or actions taken in the past harmed others and that bothered him greatly," Wallace said.

In 1979, Wallace appeared at Martin Luther King Jr.'s church in Montgomery and asked the congregation for forgiveness. If you are interested in purchasing the book, go to www.georgewallacejr.com.

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