The following is a historical account of how Christine came to know Jim Folsom, their time together, and how their actions complicated the political history of Alabama.
Christine and Jim's decisions had a major impact on them personally, but because he was a public figure, they also had an impact on public policy. Other authors have touched briefly on how Folsom's relationship with Christine affected his ability to lead, but a look from Christine's perspective reveals an even more complicated picture. Their time together came during a dramatic and difficult part of not only their lives but also a dynamic period in Alabama history.
Independent of their relationship, they were unique individuals. In the deeply segregated South, he was in favor of integration and took huge political risks in an effort to change the status quo. He was funny, larger than life with a personal magnetism that drew others to him. Christine was bold, outgoing and possessed an independent spirit that could not be contained. From her perspective, we gain an enlightened understanding of Folsom's early political years and see more clearly what life was like for a young woman who found herself in an intimate relationship with a powerful man.
The 1940s were a pivotal time in Alabama history. Jim and Christine's relationship provides a perspective from which to learn about the events from this era, just before the Civil Rights Movement began to gain speed and as Alabama became the epicenter of that struggle. The Dixiecrat Revolt of 1948 had helped establish Alabama, and Birmingham in particular, as the bastion of resistance to integration. The 1950s and 1960s brought events to Montgomery, Anniston, Birmingham and Selma that forever changed the state's image. Christine and Jim's relationship took place just before these events so it was a time that can be considered a turning point in Alabama history and their actions had far-reaching consequences. William Bradford Huie, one of Alabama's most celebrated authors, called their story the "the most interesting human story I know." A song was written about their story and Tompall Glasser recorded his own version of it, changing the Governor's name slightly to "Big Jim Colsen." Although both Huie and Glasser tell interesting stories about Christine and Jim, they, like others, leave much untold. While a few well-researched biographies of Jim Folsom (i.e. Big Mules and Branchheads 1985, The Little Man's Big Friend 1985, A Pea River Progeny 2023) have addressed his relationship with Christine, none have placed it in the context of its impact on the 1948 Dixiecrat Revolt, a significant omission.
In fact, much of Jim's relationship and time with Christine is ignored or minimized in biographies of the governor. It is an odd omission because the Birmingham News listed the elements of Christine and Jim's relationship, in and of itself, as the second biggest newspaper story in the State of Alabama in 1948, after the Dixiecrat revolt of that same year. Jim and Christine's public feud had an enormous impact on the Dixiecrat revolt and subsequent convention in Birmingham. That means, effectively, their relationship was intertwined as the number one and two newspaper stories in the State of Alabama in 1948.
In conclusion, a thorough and updated historical account will be presented here regarding the relationship between Christine and Jim. Both were married twice and their relationship took place between their formal marriages. An enlightened historical understanding of this period in Alabama history is revealed by an exploration of what happened when two young, attractive, lonely individuals met at the Tutwiler Hotel in Birmingham, Alabama.