On this day in 1963, civil rights activist, writer and political adviser James Meredith graduated after becoming the first Black student to be admitted to the University of Mississippi, a racially segregated higher learning institution.
Born on June 25, 1933, Meredith was one of thirteen kids born to Roxie and Moses Meredith. He grew up largely on the family farm in Attala County before eventually moving to St. Petersburg, Florida, to stay with family members.
After completing his senior year at Gibbs High School in 1951 and joining the U.S. Air Force, he attended Jackson State University for two years.
In 1961, inspired by President John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address and the growing civil rights movement, he applied to the University of Mississippi, exercising his right to attend a state-funded university.
Before Meredith’s enrollment at the University of Mississippi, only student Harry S. Murphy was admitted to the school as the first Black student on campus. He, however, did pass as white, and university officials did not know about his Black heritage.
Student Clennon King also attempted to enroll. In response, state officials arrested him after removing him from the campus and had physicians label him as mentally unstable, sending him to a state asylum for two weeks.
When he applied, Meredith’s initial application was also rejected. In response, he took legal action and filed a lawsuit with the support of the NAACP.
After a significant amount of legal battles, the Supreme Court ultimately ruled that he must be admitted to the university. Several government officials, including Governor Ross Barnett, attempted to bar Meredith from attending the school. President Kennedy, however, insisted that he comply with the federal ruling.
On September 30, after Barnett and U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy agreed to let Meredith attend the university, a violent crowd of white people stormed the campus, hurling objects at the security, the staff, and U.S. Marshals. By night time, the federal troops were deployed after gunshots were fired. Over 200 people were arrested, more than 200 Marshals and other security officials were injured and two bystanders died.
After he enrolled at the University of Mississippi, Meredith was ostracized, with some students forming groups and encouraging others to avoid interacting with him.
Despite the hardships, he graduated on this day in 1963 and earned his bachelor’s degree. Five years later, he attended Columbia Law School in New York and earned his LL.B.
For his work within the civil rights movement, Meredith made a name for himself as an activist. In 1966, he began the famed “March Against Fear,” marching from Memphis to Jackson, Mississippi to draw attention to voter registration amongst Black Americans.
While on the march, he was targeted as a victim of an assassination plot. 40-year-old Aubrey James Novell shot him in the head, neck, leg and back with an automatic shotgun. Meredith fortunately survived the shooting.
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, the Congress of Racial Equality and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference all stepped in to complete his mission. Figures such as Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Floyd McKissick and Stokely Carmichael led the rest of the march.
Throughout his career, Meredith also joined the staff of Senator Jesse Helms. He also organized many other marches, including the Black Man’s March for Education, a march to the University of Mississippi to draw light to the importance of education for Black men.
