Facing the History of George Wallace

Peggy Wallace Kennedy’s memoir, The Broken Road, transcends family loyalty by providing truth and moral guidelines for her sons, for her grandchildren and for the archives of American history. This takes guts.

When a teenager rebels against parents we stand back and make room for his/her mistakes. However, when a much younger child instinctively knows a father is wrong in both his behavior and in his attitudes there is often no way to rebel, or to voice those fundamental disagreements. For some of these children it becomes a task of a lifetime to not only script a different roadmap for oneself but to go against a prevailing (and misguided) belief that family loyalty means keeping silent.

Peggy Wallace knew early and instinctively that her father, George Wallace, was wrong about segregation, wrong in his beliefs about the structure of society and wrong in his actions as governor of Alabama. When she reached an age to overcome her fears and speak, it wasn’t as a rebellious teenager lashing out, but as a person dedicated to the rights of all people; a daughter burdened at an early age with rejecting the very substance of a powerful father; a daughter with a need – obligation – to give voice to her objections; a daughter who was and is willing to bear the shunning by friends and family who would judge her for not remaining ‘loyal’ (silent) about her family. Such a judgement is unfair.

This is not a vindictive ‘tell all’ memoir by a disgruntled daughter. Peggy Wallace carefully illustrates her father’s personality and gives enough insight into his own background for the reader to understand the connections to the choices he made. Further, she provides a clear picture of much of what happened during the Civil Rights Movement. We need personal windows into history. The actions of our politicians make no sense without the fabric of their lives. George Wallace was merciless and destructive. He was also a loving father and kind. He was complicated. We may or may not believe that he ultimately changed for the better, but it doesn’t matter.

What matters in this book is that Peggy Wallace Kennedy has given her family and all Americans a portrait of a troubled time and a troubled man who had a grave impact on all of our lives. This is vital to understanding both the past and the present. We should all be thankful for the book.