Ole Miss riot of 1962
The Ole Miss Riot of 1962 was a significant and violent confrontation that took place at the University of Mississippi on September 30, 1962, marking one of the most intense clashes between segregationists and federal forces in U.S. history. The conflict arose when James Meredith, an African-American Air Force veteran, sought to enroll at Ole Miss, in direct opposition to the prevailing segregationist policies. His admission was initially accepted but later revoked upon the discovery of his race, prompting federal intervention to enforce desegregation following the 1954 Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education.
The situation escalated dramatically when Mississippi Governor Ross Barnett, a staunch segregationist, rallied opposition against Meredith's enrollment, leading to a violent riot involving thousands of protesters. Federal marshals dispatched to protect Meredith faced significant resistance, resulting in fatalities and numerous injuries. The riot ultimately forced President John F. Kennedy to call in additional military support to restore order.
Despite the chaos, Meredith successfully attended his first class after the riots, graduating in 1963. The event profoundly impacted the civil rights movement, highlighting the challenges of enforcing desegregation in the South and prompting a shift in public attitudes towards racial equality at educational institutions.
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Ole Miss riot of 1962
The Ole Miss Riot of 1962 was one of the most violent confrontations between segregationists and federal forces in American history (excluding the Civil War). The confrontation occurred at the University of Mississippi campus ("Ole Miss") on September 30, 1962. At the heart of the conflict was a student named James Meredith. After serving nine years in the United States Air Force, Meredith enrolled at Jackson State University, an African-American college in Jackson, Mississippi. Meredith excelled at Jackson State and applied for admission into Ole Miss in 1961, seven years after the ruling Brown vs. Board of Education, in which the United States Supreme Court ruled that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. Meredith was initially accepted into Ole Miss but when the registrar learned of his race, the school revoked his admission. Mississippi governor and segregationist Ross Barnett actively spoke out against James Meredith's admission into the school. During the Ole Miss versus the University of Kentucky football game, Barnett gave a speech in which he declared his "love for Mississippi and its customs and traditions." More than 40,000 football fans were in attendance, many of whom waved Confederate flags to show their support. Many thought his speech was a call to arms and prepared to fight.
Background
The Ole Miss Riot of 1962 was a violent conflict that is sometimes called the Battle of Oxford because the school is located in Oxford, Mississippi. Segregationists opposed an African-American student's admission into the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss). Federal forces, upholding the Brown vs. Board of Education ruling in 1954, defended the desegregation of all schools and universities across the United States. Prior to the Ole Miss Riot of 1962, much of the upholding of Brown vs. Board of Education had been dealt with by individual states without the opposition of federal forces.
Twenty-nine-year-old James Meredith arrived on campus escorted by 127 deputy marshals, as per the request of President John F. Kennedy. Ross Barnett, the governor of Mississippi, led a group of segregationist and state forces on campus to try to prevent Meredith from attending classes. Barnett was later found guilty of contempt and ordered to stop interfering with the federal government or pay a $10,000 fine for each day that he refused to cooperate.
About three thousand protestors showed up and the riot soon turned violent. Two civilians died, including a French journalist, and about two hundred people were injured, including almost one hundred of the deputy marshals deployed by President Kennedy. Federal marshals tried to use tear gas to subdue the crowd but soon ran out. President Kennedy called in the Army Military Police, United States Border Patrol, and Mississippi National Guard in the middle of the night to try to regain order on the University of Mississippi campus. Before the end of the riot, a deputy marshal's car had been set on fire, almost killing three more people, and thousands of troops had been sent to the Ole Miss campus to restore order.
When the riots ended about fifteen hours later, James Meredith was escorted to his first class on the University of Mississippi's campus, a seminar on American colonial history. Meredith graduated from Ole Miss with a political science degree in 1963. At his graduation, he was guarded by hundreds of troops. Governor Barnett was found guilty of civil contempt but was never ordered to pay fines or serve jail time for his role in the Ole Miss Riot of 1962.
Impact
Before the Ole Miss Riot of 1962, the University of Mississippi promoted white supremacy. Plantation owners and the Mississippi elite sent their children there for the best education the state had to offer. The riot became a turning point for the university. It cast the school into the national spotlight and used it as an example of the need for mandatory desegregation at higher institutions of learning. No one wanted to experience such violence on a college campus again. Before the riot, the federal government allowed most states to desegregate their schools on their own, a privilege that was clearly not working.
The riot also marked the beginning of a change in dynamics in Mississippi. Moderate segregationists began to encourage citizens to obey the law and allow desegregation on college campuses. In 1963, a group of Methodist ministers signed a statement declaring their support for desegregation. However, change did not come easy in Mississippi. Many of the ministers who signed the statement lost their jobs as did college professors at the University of Mississippi who supported desegregating the school.
Soon after James Meredith graduated from the University of Mississippi, he started a solo walk between Memphis, Tennessee, and Jackson, Mississippi, to raise awareness and encourage African Americans to vote. His walk was called March Against Fear. But on June 6, 1966, two days after he began his march, Meredith was shot by a sniper and seriously injured. Martin Luther King, Jr., Stokely Carmichael, and others arrived to continue the March Against Fear as a sign of their unwavering support. James Meredith recovered and returned to join them in time to successfully reach Jackson, Mississippi, on June 26, 1966.
After the march, Meredith went on to earn a Master's Degree in Economics from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria and later a law degree from Columbia University in New York City. He tried to enter politics—he ran for a 1967 United States House of Representatives seat and later a 1972 Senate seat. He lost both races but remained active in civil rights and education throughout his life. Meredith wrote three books including his memoir, Mission from God, in which he chronicles the 1962 Ole Miss Riots, as well as his experiences being the first African-American student at an all-white university.
Bibliography
Elliott, Debbie. "Integrating Ole Miss: A Transformative Deadly Riot." 1 Oct. 2012, www.npr.org/2012/10/01/161573289/integrating-ole-miss-a-transformative-deadly-riot. Accessed 27 Dec. 2016.
"James Meredith Biography." Bio, www.biography.com/people/james-meredith-9406314#!. Accessed 27 Dec. 2016.
"James Meredith Shot." History.com., www.history.com/this-day-in-history/james-meredith-shot. Accessed 27 Dec. 2016.
"Ole Miss Riot of 1962." World E-Book Library. //www.worldebooklibrary.org/articles/eng/Ole‗Miss‗riot‗of‗1962 world e book libraryWHEBN0023415325. Accessed 27 Dec. 2016.
"Riots over Desegregation of Old Miss." History.com, HYPERLINK "http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/riots-over-desegregation-of-ole-miss" //www.history.com/this-day-in-history/riots-over-desegregation-of-ole-miss. Accessed 27 Dec. 2016.
"Ross Barnett, Segregationist, Dies; Governor of Mississippi in the 1960s." The New York Times. 7 Nov. 1987, PERLINK www.nytimes.com/1987/11/07/obituaries/ross-barnett-segregationist-dies-governor-of-mississippi-in-1960-s.html. Accessed 27 Dec. 2016.
Sitton, Claude. "Troops Put Down Mississippi Rioting and Seize 200 as Negros Attend Classes; Ex-General Walker Is Held for Insurrection." The New York Times, 1 Oct. 1962, http://partners.nytimes.com/library/national/race/100262race-ra.html. Accessed 27 Dec. 2016.