General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: A conversation about the Confederate flag... [View all]Art_from_Ark
(27,247 posts)He underwent his epiphany shortly after he was nearly assassinated during the '72 presidential campaign.
"A year after the assassination attempt, he stood strapped to a podium and addressed the Alabama legislature on local issues. The amazing and emotional event secured his political comeback. Further, Wallace renounced racism, claiming he only opposed a "central government meddling in local affairs." To symbolize the change, he returned to Tuscaloosa to crown the first black homecoming queen at the University of Alabama. He ran for re-election as governor in 1974 by opposing the federal bureaucracy and secured victory by distributing plenty of political favors, especially in black neighborhoods, which saw an increase in paved roads and other public services. A quarter of all black voters cast ballots for Wallace, who won 65 percent of the vote, the largest margin ever posted in a primary. "
http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-1676
So by the time Wallace endorsed Carter in 1976, he had significantly reversed his erstwhile racist views.