Here are some interesting facts about April 24 in Alabama history:

1. In 1956, the Governor of Alabama, Jim Folsom, signed into law a bill that created the Alabama State Junior College at Bay Minette. Today, this institution is known as Coastal Alabama Community College.

2. On April 24, 1963, Alabama Governor George Wallace addressed a group of civil rights advocates at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. His infamous "Stand in the Schoolhouse Door" speech was a dramatic attempt to prevent two African American students from enrolling at the university, in defiance of a federal court order.

3. The University of Alabama was also the site of another significant event on April 24, 2020. This day marked the first virtual graduation ceremony in the school's history, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

4. In 1905, Helen Keller, the iconic deaf-blind American activist, was a guest speaker at the Alabama School for the Blind in Talladega. Her inspiring message to the students included the famous quote, "The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched—they must be felt with the heart."

5. On April 24, 1979, the United States Supreme Court issued a controversial ruling in the case of Carter v. West Feliciana Parish School Board. The court upheld the school board's decision to fire a female physical education teacher who refused to cut her hair, even though male teachers with long hair were not subject to the same rule. The decision was criticized for perpetuating gender discrimination.