James Meredith and the Integration of the University of Mississippi

**Frankie DeBorde and Jack McGranahan*

                                                                     

James Meredith being escorted by U.S. Marshalls at the University of Mississippi-

1st picture= left= www.indiana.edu/.../olemissDESEGREGATIon.jpg

 

 

 Who were the key figures of the Integration of Ole' Miss?

 -James Meredith, an African American and former server in the U.S. Air Force, made history in 1962 as he became the first African American to attend the University of Mississippi.

 

-President John F. Kennedy also played a key role in Meredith's integration of the University by ordering thousands of U.S. Marshalls and federal troops to the Mississippi campus on September 30, 1962 to help stop the riots that were protesting the integration of James Meredith to the University.  President Kennedy also spoke publicaly to protest the riots forming at the campus.

 

-Ross Barnett, the Mississippi governor at the time of Meredith's Integration, highly protested the integration of Meredith, an African American, to the all- white University of Mississippi.  Barnett did nothing to stop the riots that formed outside the Mississippi campus on September 30, but actually encouraged them and refused to comply with the federal government and President Kennedy on allowing Meredith to attend the University.

 

 

 

1st picture=left=http://www.norcalblogs.com/ This picture shows President John F. Kennedy

http://cache.viewimages.com/xc/3364626.jpg

2nd picture=middle=link above/ James Meredith

 

3rd picture=right=link below/ Govenor Barnett speaking out his veiws for the integratoin of Ole Miss                                            

 Source for this picture: www.cache.viewimages.com    

 

 

Where did the riots take place?

-Riots took place throghout the University of Mississippi campus, espacially in front of the administrative buldings, in Oxford, Mississippi.

 

When did the key events of the integration of Meredith take place?

- On Jan. 30, 1961, James Meredith first applied to the University of Mississippi.

 

-On Feb. 4, 1961,  the University of Mississippi denied Meredith's application to attend the university.

 

-On May 30, 1961, James Meredith and the NAACP took the case to the United States Supreme Court.

 

-On Sep. 10, 1962, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered Ole' Miss to accept Meredith into the University.

 

-On Sep. 25, 1962, Mississippi Governor Ross Barnett blocked Meredith from attending the University despite the Court's ruling.

 

-On Sep. 30, 1962, Riots formed at the Mississippi campus.  President Kennedy then ordered thousands of U.S. troops to Oxford to help enroll Meredith and stop the rioting.

 

-On Oct. 1, 1962, James Meredith attended his first class as an Ole' Miss student.

 

What happened when James Meredith applied to the University of Mississippi in 1961?

James Meredith, a very intelligent African American and Mississippian and former server in the U.S. Air Force, applied to the all-white University of Mississippi in 1961. Yet the University rejected his application- twice. Mississippi Governor Ross Barnett stated that he would not allow Meredith, being an African American, to attend the University. Then Meredith appealed to the NAACP, and after a year of appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court by NAACP attorneys, the Supreme Court finally ruled on September, 10, 1962 that Meredith had the right to attend the University of Mississippi. Despite the Supreme Court's ruling, state officials and Governor Barnett were determined to block Meredith from attending the University in 1962.

 

What happened when state officials and Governor Barnett denied James Meredith's attendance to the University of Mississippi, despite the Supreme Court's Ruling?

When Governor Barnett stated that he would not allow James Meredith or any other African American to integrate the University of Mississippi in late Septemer of 1962, many anti-desegragation protestors saw this as a chance to protest Meredith's integration of the University. Barnett's actions sparked dangerous riots that formed all around the school campus, and all of the rioters were all protesting the same thing: they would not allow Meredith to enroll at Ole' Miss. But then, the federal government took action. President Kennedy, after much argument with Barnett on the issue of allowing Meredith to attend the University, then ordered on September 30, 1962 for more than 500 federal troops and U.S. Marshalls to go to the University campus in Oxford, Mississippi to help Meredith successfully enroll.

By the time the federal troops arrived, the mobs and riots were starting to become extremely dangerous . Although the troops arrived to the campus just in time, they were in for a long, life threatening night.

 

What happened at the deadly riots that formed on the Ole' Miss Campus on September 30,1962?

When the defiance of Governor Barnett to the Federal government sparked deadly riots on September 30, 1962, the U.S. Marshalls were sent to stop the riots and enroll Meredith into the University. But these rioters would stop at nothing to make sure that Meredith wouldn't attend the University of Mississippi. These mobs then began attacking the federal guards with bricks, guns, and explosive molotov cocktails. The troops were also bombarded with bottles, sticks, and rocks, also being heavily cursed at from the mobs. Newsmen were actually the chief target of the protestors, two being killed in the riots. Then President Kennedy ordered another 1,600 federal troops to the school campus to help face down the mob. The troops, ordered not to shoot any protestors, attempted to stop the mobs by hurling teargas at the demonstrators. Then students even brought a bulldozer from a construction site nearby, and aimed it at the administration building. This attempt was stopped by the blinding tear gas hurled from the guards. Then finally by the end of the day, order was restored by the troops, and the deadly mobs died down. But it came with a great cost. In all, two people were killed and 160 were injured, but the next day James Meredith registered for his first classes at the University, becoming the first African American to ever integrate the University of Mississippi, making this integration a key event of the Civil Rights Movement.

 

 1st picture=left= link is below/This picture shows U.S. Marshalls in Oxford, Mississippi wearing gas masks.

 Source 4: http://cache.viewimages.com/xc/

 

2nd picture=right=link is below/This picture shows James Meredith being escorted by guards.

  Source for this picture: http://www.norcalblogs.com

 

 

Why did these riots occur?

Many of these riots and mobs became as destructive and violent as they did mainly because of Mississippi Governor Ross Barnett. Barnett appears to be the only one who could have stopped the rioting and prevented all of the disorder and bloodshed by making a personal appeal to the students, but the Mississippi governor chose not to, and actually helped influence the riots that were protesting the integration of James Meredith into the University of Mississippi by stating, "We will not surrender," meaning to the federal government, to Mississippi students on the Saturday before September 30, 1962. These words and actions by Governor Barnett gave support to anti-desegragation Mississippi college students, locals, and citizens from other states to create these destructive, violent riots to protest the integration of James Meredith.

 

Our new flag for Georgia:

 

 Our position on the Confederate battle flag: The Confederate battle flag is meant to honor our courageous forefathers who so bravely faught for the Confederacy in their fight for independence and protection of their homeland in the War Between the States. The Confederate battle flag is not supposed to in any way represent slavery and racism toward African Americans.

 

 

 Source Citations

Just Added - Source 1: "Meredith, James." Compton's by Britannica. 2008. 7 Feb. 2008 <http://school.eb.com>.

 

 

Source 2 : "Negro At Mississippi U. as Barnett Yields; 3 Dead in Campus Riot, 6 Marshals..." New York Times 1857 1 Oct. 1962./

 

Source 3: Kaufman, Albert J. "Barnet Inaction Cited." New York Times 30 Sept. 1962. 11 Feb. 2008 <http://proquest.umi.com>.

 

Source 4: http://www.jfklibrary.org/meredith/home.html