LYCOS RETRIEVER 
James Meredith
built 218 days ago
James Meredith was one of the pioneers of the civil rights movement. In 1962 he became the first black student to successfully enroll at the University of Mississippi. The state's governor, Ross Barnett, vociferously opposed his enrollment, and the violence and rioting surrounding the incident caused President Kennedy to send 5,000 federal troops to restore the peace. Meredith graduated from the University of Mississippi in 1963 (he had entered the university as a transfer student from an all-black college). For a number of years, Meredith continued to work as a civil rights activist, most notably by leading the March Against Fear in 1966, a protest against voter registration intimidation. During the march, which began in Memphis, Tenn., and ended in Jackson, Miss., Meredith was shot and wounded, hospitalized, and then rejoined the march in its last days.
Source:
In 1962, James Meredith was the first black person to study at the University of Mississippi. He enrolled after serving in the U.S. Air Force and met great resistance from students and state officials. Campus riots in protest of his enrollment caused two deaths and necessitated protection from federal troops until he graduated in 1963. In 1966, He wrote the autobiographical Three Years in Mississippi. During the March Against Fear in Mississippi he was shot in Jackson, Miss., in June 1966 but recovered to finish the march. Soon afterward, he withdrew from the civil rights movement to work in business.
Source:
In September 1962, Air Force veteran James Meredith, armed with a federal court order, attempted to register for classes at the previously all-white University of Mississippi. Blocked by state officials and violent mobs, Meredith was only able to enroll after the Kennedy administration sent in federal troops and marshals. Meredith graduated in 1963, and in June 1966, he began a "march against fear" from Memphis, Tennessee, to Jackson, Mississippi. After segregationists shot and wounded Meredith during his march, CORE, SNCC, and the SCLC took up the march, which was successfully completed later that month. Meredith later got a law degree from Columbia University and worked for conservative North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms.
Source:
When James Meredith became the first African American to attend the University of Mississippi in 1962, he became one of the civil rights movement's most recognizable figures. His enrollment at the previously all-white school sparked riots and required the combined forces of the National Guard and the U.S. Army to enforce a court order. Since that time, Meredith frequently has shocked civil rights backers with his unusual and controversial views on race and politics. These views have led Meredith to forge some surprising alliances in later years, including well-publicized associations with conservative North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms and Louisiana politician David Duke, a former leader of the Ku Klux Klan. Along the way, Meredith repeatedly has proclaimed that he was selected by divine forces to save western civilization from its own self-destructive ways.
Source:
James Meredith was born in Kosciusko, MS, on June 25, 1933. He was an exceptional student in good standings. James enrolled in the U.S. Air Force right out of high school and served from 1951 to 1960. He then attended Jackson State College for two years. Afterwards, in 1962 he then tried to transfer to the University of Mississippi and was denied admission. Meredith filed a complaint with the district court in 1961, and a federal court ordered the university to desegregate and admit Meredith.
Source:
James Meredith was born in Kosciusko, Mississippi, on June 25, 1933. While attending Jackson State College (1960-62) Meredith attempted to become the first African American to gain admission to the University of Mississippi. Meredith filled out the application, ignoring the question on race as irrelevant. He was duly admitted. But the admission was withdrawn when word got out that James H. Meredith was “darker than expected”. When Ole Miss authorities refused to respond to reason, he reluctantly sued.
Source:
MORE ABOUT
James Meredith