James Meredith, born June 25, 1933, in Kosciusko, Miss., was the first black person to gain admission to the University of Mississippi. In 1961, he filed a complaint in district court after being rejected by the school twice. The court decided against his allegations of being denied admission because of the color of his skin. On appeal, the Fifth Judicial Circuit Court reversed this ruling.
Meredith’s admission to the university was opposed by state officials as well as students. U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy sent federal marshals to protect Meredith from threats of being lynched. During riots that followed Kennedy’s decision, 160 marshals were wounded and two bystanders were killed.
In 1966, Meredith began a solitary March Against Fear, a 220-mile march from Memphis, Tenn., to Jackson, Miss., in protest of racism. Shortly after beginning his march, however, Meredith was shot by a sniper. Other civil rights campaigners decided to continue the march in his name. Meredith rejoined the March Against Fear after his recovery.
Meredith continued his education at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria and at Columbia University. He discontinued his work as a civil rights activist in the late 1960s and became a stockbroker. Meredith joined the Republican Party and tried several times to be elected to Congress.
— Jessica Richelderfer
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