This Day In Maryland History: Assassination Attempt In Laurel

LAUREL, Md. — More than 50 years ago, on May 15, 1972, George Wallace survived an assassination attempt at the Laurel Shopping Center in Laurel, Maryland. The assailant, Arthur Bremer, shot Wallace multiple times while he was campaigning for the Democratic nomination in the 1972 presidential election.

Wallace survived the initial assassination attempt, but he was left paralyzed from the waist down for the remainder of his life. Despite his paralysis, Wallace would go on to win re-election as Alabama governor in 1974.

George Wallace was a prominent politician in the mid-1900s, serving four terms as governor of Alabama. He also served as a member of the Alabama House of Representatives for Barbour County.

Like many politicians, Wallace had a controversial record on major topics of political debate in the 20th century. Most notably, Wallace was a staunch segregationist throughout the 1960s, even going so far as to stand outside the University of Alabama’s entrance to prevent Black students from entering.

What Happened After The Assassination Attempt?

Though George Wallace believed in segregation in the 1960s, he would eventually rethink many of his views.

Despite his views toward segregation, Shirley Chisholm, the first African American woman to seek a major party’s nomination for the office of the presidency, actually visited Wallace in the hospital after the assassination attempt.

“I wouldn’t want what happened to you to happen to anyone,” Chisholm told Wallace, according to History.com. She also reported that Wallace cried in response to her words, indicating that this may be one of the moments that changed his viewpoint in the following years.

Eventually, Wallace personally apologized to Vivian Malone Jones, one of the students he had blocked from entering the University of Alabama.

“Vivian Malone Jones was at the center of the fight over states’ rights and conducted herself with grace, strength and, above all, courage,” said George Wallace, according to the Los Angeles Times.

In 1996, the George Wallace Family Foundation picked Vivian Malone Jones for the Lurleen B. Wallace Award of Courage. After a meeting between Wallace and Jones, she reportedly forgave him for his actions.

“There is no question Wallace and I will be remembered for the stand in the schoolhouse door. There is no way you can overcome that. But the best that can happen at this point is to say it was a mistake. We all make mistakes,” said Vivian Malone Jones, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Wallace died in 1998 from septic shock, though he had also been suffering from Parkinson’s disease. The former Alabama governor is a fascinating case of a politician who flipped his viewpoint around later in life, proving to everyone that you can meaningfully change your opinion about even your strongest convictions.

To learn more about George Wallace, visit Alabama.gov.

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