Forrest Gump Scene 5 Summary

  • Now, Forrest recollects how he found college a confusing time in his life. Forrest: he's just like us!
  • Well, not quite like us, actually. He remembers the day the U.S. government first forced universities to admit black students.
  • Forrest visits the angry mob outside the University of Alabama. He wants to know what's going on, and one of the racist onlookers says that the government is trying to get "c***s" into the university.
  • Forrest doesn't really understand racism, so he assumes the guy is talking about racc***s and says that they should just chase them away with a broom. Hey, don't give them any ideas.
  • Forrest watches on as George Wallace, the governor of Alabama, makes his infamous speech against admitting black students into white schools.
  • While two black students enter the university, Forrest notices that one of them has dropped a book, and he runs to give it back to her. It's still clear that he doesn't understand the racism that's going on all around him.
  • A few years later, Forrest tells us, Governor George Wallace runs for president and is shot before the election, but he doesn't die. (AP U.S. History Shmoopers, are you taking notes yet?)