Lurleen Burns Wallace

"Lurleen Wallace was the first woman elected as governor in Alabama at a tumultuous time in the state and nation's history as the civil rights issues were heating up. She was a mother of four and a housewife, never harboring any intentions to serve as a politician, but was virtually thrust into the role when her husband, infamous segregationist George C. Wallace, begged her to run so he could stay in the limelight. She beat nearly two dozen male candidates to be elected to the highest post in state office. Less than two years into her term, she died from a cancer that ravished her body for years before she even knew. Her life and legacy are as complicated as they are critical in understanding the role of white Southern women and their involvement in politics in the 1960s."--