A deal was finally made between the Attorney General Robert Kennedy and Governor Barnett and Meredith was allowed to attend Ole Miss. On October 1, 1962, he became the first black student at the University of Mississippi, after being barred from entering on September 20. His enrollment, firmly opposed by segregationist Governor Ross Barnett, sparked riots on the Oxford campus, and required enforcement by U.S. Marshals, and later by (federal) U.S. Army military police, Mississippi National Guard and U.S. Border Patrol. The riots led to a violent clash which left two people dead, including French journalist Paul Guihard, on assignment for the London Daily Sketch, who was found behind the Lyceum building with a gunshot wound to the back. 48 soldiers were injured and 28 U.S. Marshals were wounded by gunfire. Barnett was fined $10,000 and sentenced to jail for contempt, but the charges were later dismissed by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. Bob Dylan sang about the incident in his song "Oxford Town". Meredith's actions are regarded as a pivotal moment in the history of civil rights in the United States. He graduated on August 18, 1963 with a degree in political science
Many students harassed Meredith during his two semesters on campus. Though the majority of students accepted Meredith's presence, according to first person accounts chronicled in Nadine Cohodas's book The Band Played Dixie, students living in Meredith's dorm bounced basketballs on the floor just above his room through all hours of the night. When Meredith walked into the cafeteria for meals, the students eating would all turn their backs. If Meredith sat at a table with other students, all of whom were white, the students would immediately get up and go to another table.
1 comment:
We have come so far, but yet not far enough. Hatred is being bred still! His efforts and successul are so honorable! Thanks for posting about people who are already over publicised
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