James Meredith's Decision To Enroll At The University Of Mississippi

James Meredith was the first African American to be accepted to the University of Mississippi. He sparked a violent revolt on October 1, 1962, when he made the attempt to integrate the University of Mississippi and attracted protesters against his enrollment (Sansing 273). However, James Meredith, a Civil Rights Activist who had first faced discrimination on a train, continued to motivate himself to enroll at the University of Mississippi, despite the racial tension (Kirkpatrick 92). Before Meredith made the decision to challenge against racial segregation, he was raised on a farm in Kosciusko, Mississippi, to Moses and Roxie Meredith in 1933. Meredith was raised with twelve other siblings in the household and was educated to segregate himself

Educational opportunities in Florida were more superior to public schools in Kosciusko, and this made it difficult for Meredith to adapt coming from rural Mississippi (“Meredith, James H” 2). In 1951, he graduated from Gibbs High and joined the Air Force due to money shortage for college. James Meredith was able to attend college courses through the Air Force that allowed him to further his education. He also attended courses at the University of Kansas, Washburn University, and enrolled in the Far Eastern Division of the University of Maryland while stationed in Japan. When Meredith returned home to Mississippi, he enrolled at Jackson State University, an all-black college (2). James Meredith first faced racial discrimination on “The City of New Orleans”

The Supreme Court ended ruling in Meredith’s favor and ordered his right to be enrolled at the University of Mississippi. Enrolling him drew conflict between the state and its government. On September 20th, three days after Meredith filed a lawsuit, Governor Ross Barnett refused the court order. He did this by threatening to close down Ole Miss, if necessary, to prevent James from admission (Sansing 272). When Meredith arrived at Ole Miss on September 25, 1962, to register as the first African American to admit to the University of Mississippi, Governor Ross Barnett had blocked his entrance. Ten days later on September 30, the stakes were high for African Americans and white supremacy, and a plan was suggested that Meredith was to privately sneak onto campus and into his dormitory (Kirkpatrick 93). He was escorted by federal marshals directed by President Kennedy and into his dorm in Baxter Hall. With the number of federal marshals escorting Meredith onto campus, it brought attention to students and a riot shortly formed. By 8:00 that night, violence from the riot increased and national guardsmen appeared on the campus. Cars were set to fire on the streets and abundant amounts of tear gas were fired into the air from the national guardsmen (Sansing 273). Persisting on for fourteen hours, any access into the building was blocked from preventing rioters to continue. The violent riot resulted