Existing comment:
NAACP Requests Assistance for James Meredith
In September 1962, a federal court ordered the University of Mississippi to accept James Meredith, a twenty-eight-year-old Air Force veteran, after a sixteen-month legal battle. Governor Ross Barnett (1898−1987) disavowed the decree and physically barred Meredith from enrolling. President Kennedy responded by federalizing the Mississippi National Guard and sending U.S. Army troops to protect Meredith. After days of violence and rioting by whites, Meredith, escorted by federal marshals, enrolled on October 1, 1962. Two men were killed in the turmoil and more than 300 were injured. Because he had earned credits in the military and at Jackson State College, Meredith was eligible to graduate the following August, which he did without incident. |