In 1962, James Meredith, protected by hundreds of US soldiers, broke the collegiate color barrier by being the first African American to be admitted to the University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss.
On our Living Legacy Pilgrimage, Ole Miss Professor Greg Johnson showed our group images from the 1890s and early 1900s that signified just how entrenched racist segregation was at this traditionally all-white southern institution.
His PowerPoint images included playbills from university theater productions that described and depicted African Americans in derogatory stereotypical language and caricatures: "All Coons Look Alike to Me" musical handbill (1896); "Evah Dahkey Is a King" song (1902); "DON'T BUY NEGRO RECORDS" poster.
He also showed us yearbooks from the early 1900s when the Ku Klux Klan was an honored fraternity on campus: A photo of six hooded persons above the caption "Kampus Ko-Eds Ku Klux Klan" (1909); "Save Our Land, Join the Klan" poster (1939); "The Bright Fiery Cross," a KKK 78 rpm record.
Even today, the university struggles with its racist past
.
Standing near a life-size statue of Meredith in stride as though about to cross a campus courtyard, students Tysianna Marino, Jaylon Martin, and Viviek Patel, members of the university NAACP chapter, related their successful effort in 2016 to have the Mississippi state flag removed from all campus buildings.
Their argument was that the state flag contains the image of the Confederate flag, which some view as a symbol of ongoing racism. Ku Klux Klansmen from Georgia -- but apparently not Mississippi -- protested this move.
People in favor of keeping the flag flying on campus have advocated that the state of Mississippi cut off funding to the university. Billboards near Ole Miss say, "You take our money. You fly our flag."
James Meredith, who was born in 1933, was nearly 30 years of age when he was admitted to Ole Miss.
He was inspired, he says, by John F. Kennedy's inaugural speech to exercise his constitutional right to a higher education. His goal, according to a Wikipedia article, was "to put pressure on the Kennedy administration to enforce civil rights for African Americans."
In June 5, 1966, he initiated a solo 220-mile March Against Fear from Memphis, Tennessee, to Jackson, Mississippi. On the second day of this march, he was shot numerous times by a white gunman.
Leaders of several civil rights organizations continued the march while Meredith recovered in a hospital.
On June 26, he was able to rejoin the marchers, who then numbered 15,000 persons.
During the three weeks of this march, an estimated 4,000 African Americans registered to vote.
In 2002 and 2012, Meredith was among notable civil rights activists who spoke at Ole Miss to celebrate the 40th and 50th anniversaries of his integration into the institution.
Next blog: "Living Legacy Pilgrimage: A lesson in resiliency"
