Final answer:
George Wallace was the governor of Alabama known for his statement supporting segregation. He physically blocked black students from entering the University of Alabama in 1963, reflecting his opposition to desegregated schools, despite later attempts to reconcile his past actions.
Step-by-step explanation:
George Wallace, the governor of Alabama, is most infamous for his pro-segregation statement "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever," which he declared during his 1963 inaugural speech. This phrase represented his staunch support for racial segregation and opposition to the desegregation of schools and other public facilities in the South. In 1963, following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional, Wallace stood in the door of the University of Alabama to physically block the entry of two African American students, in an event known as the Stand in the Schoolhouse Door. Although later in his career, Wallace made attempts to recant and apologize for his earlier segregationist views, his legacy is still largely associated with the era of segregation and his initial resistance to civil rights. This occurred during a time when the civil rights movement was gaining momentum, marked by protests, economic boycotts, and the involvement of federal troops to enforce court-ordered desegregation, as infamously opposed by Governor Wallace.