An appeals court orders the University of Mississippi to admit James Meredith the first African-American student admitted to the segregated University of Mississippi,
James Howard Meredith (born June 25, 1933) is an American civil rights activist, writer, political adviser, and Air Force veteran who became, in 1962, the first African-American student admitted to the racially segregated University of Mississippi after the intervention of the federal government (an event that was a flashpoint in the civil rights movement). Inspired by President John F. Kennedy's inaugural address, Meredith decided to exercise his constitutional rights and apply to the University of Mississippi. His goal was to put pressure on the Kennedy administration to enforce civil rights for African Americans.In 1966, Meredith planned a solo 220-mile March Against Fear from Memphis, Tennessee, to Jackson, Mississippi; he wanted to highlight continuing racism in the South and encourage voter registration after passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He did not want major civil rights organizations involved. The second day, he was shot by a white gunman and suffered numerous wounds. Leaders of major organizations vowed to complete the march in his name after he was taken to the hospital. While Meredith was recovering, more people from across the country became involved as marchers. He rejoined the march and when Meredith and other leaders entered Jackson on June 26, they were leading an estimated 15,000 marchers, in what was the largest civil rights march in Mississippi. During the march, more than 4,000 African Americans registered to vote, and it was a catalyst to continued community organizing and additional registration.
In 2002 and again in 2012, the University of Mississippi led year-long series of events to celebrate the 40th and 50th anniversaries of Meredith's integration of the institution. He was among numerous speakers invited to the campus, where a statue of him commemorates his role. The Lyceum-The Circle Historic District at the center of the campus has been designated as a National Historic Landmark for these events.
The University of Mississippi, commonly known as Ole Miss, is a public research university adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi with a medical center in Jackson. The University of Mississippi is the state's oldest public university, and is the second largest university by enrollment in Mississippi.The university was chartered by the Mississippi Legislature on February 24, 1844, and four years later admitted its first enrollment of 80 students. It operated as a Confederate hospital during the Civil War and narrowly avoided destruction by Ulysses S. Grant's forces. A race riot erupted on campus in 1962 during the civil rights movement when segregationists tried to prevent the enrollment of African American James Meredith. The university has since taken measures to improve its image. Ole Miss is closely associated with writer William Faulkner and owns and manages his former home Rowan Oak. In addition to Faulkner's home, two other sites on campus—Barnard Observatory and the Lyceum–The Circle Historic District—are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Ole Miss is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". The university is one of 33 colleges and universities participating in the National Sea Grant Program and a participant in the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program. Its research efforts include the National Center for Physics Acoustics, National Center for Natural Products Research and the Mississippi Center for Supercomputing Research. Its federally contracted marijuana facility serves as the only Food and Drug Administration-approved source for cannabis research. The university also operates interdisciplinary institutes such as the Center for the Study of Southern Culture. Its athletic teams compete as the Ole Miss Rebels in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, Southeastern Conference, Division I.
The university's alumni include 27 Rhodes Scholars, 10 governors, 5 US senators, 1 head of state, and a Nobel Prize Laureate. Other alumni have received honors such as Emmy Awards, Grammy Awards, and Pulitzer Prizes. Its medical center performed the first human lung transplant and animal-to-human heart transplant.