Raymond Martin of Atlanta was 9 years old when James Meredith made history as the first black student to attend The University of Mississippi. As a little boy in 1962, Martin remembered troops around Oxford, a lot of confusion and “just a prayer for the future.” The tense and violent atmosphere led his parents’ decision not to walk around town anymore....
Tag Archives: James Meredith
The University of Mississippi and Oxford communities had the opportunity to hear U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder speak last night at the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts. Holder, who spoke for the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College fall convocation, discussed the progress integration has made and the journey still ahead. Chancellor Dan Jones also...
Fifty years after James Meredith enrolled at Ole Miss, Matthew Graves, producer and director at The University of Mississippi Media and Documentary Projects division, has paid tribute to Meredith in the form of a documentary film, “Rebels: James Meredith and the Integration of Ole Miss.” Graves learned of Meredith and the struggle to integrate The University...
A half century ago, James Meredith drew the world’s attention to The University of Mississippi when he became the first black man to walk onto campus as a member of the student body. After battling the administration, state legislature and even Governor Ross Barnett himself, Meredith was finally allowed to transfer from Jackson State College – after the intervention...
Even though years had passed since James Meredith took one of the most infamous steps on campus, the lingering effects of racism didn’t completely subside. John Hawkins, Ole Miss’ first black cheerleader, came under fire when he refused to wave the confederate flag after he made the team in 1982. Clara Bibbs, Hawkins’ friend and also an African-American,...
In the first volume of the book, The Life of Reason, author George Santayana wrote: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” The University of Mississippi will remember its own past and work to grow from it with “Opening the Closed Society: 50 Years of Integration,” a year-long celebration of diversity at Ole Miss organized...
On Sept. 11, in an attempt to save a prospective $1 million, Congress decided to close six courthouses across the South. One of the six is the federal courthouse in Meridian, which was built in 1933 during the Great Depression and has served as both a courthouse and a post office for the southern Mississippi town. The other five are Gadsen, Ala.; Pikeville, Ky.; Wilkesboro,...
