Oliver Cromwell Carmichael: A Casualty of Neutrality

Oliver Cromwell Carmichael was a Southern moderate who had the misfortune of being president of the University of Alabama during a time where the entire South was in conflict with the federal law over desegregation. Being a native of Alabama, Carmichael was aware that segregation was a deep-rooted tradition in the South, and having worked in New York, he was aware of the progressive liberal ways of the North. Carmichael found himself in the middle of these two groups, trying, but unable, to please both. On February 1st, 1956 the University of Alabama admitted its first African American student, Autherine Lucy. Within a week the University dismissed her because riots protesting her enrollment were increasingly violent. This would be the beginning of the University of Alabama becoming the symbol of Southern resistance to integration and defiance of the law. Carmichael was a cultured, modern, and highly experienced educator and administrator in the world of higher education, yet he failed as president of the University of Alabama, and more important, he failed at desegregating the university when he was given an opportune chance. This failure to desegregate the university has painted Carmichael in a negative light as a man who was against integration. However, this may not be the case. This paper examines Carmichael’s personality, relationships, and professional behavior and the reasons behind the choices he made.