August 18, 1963 - James Meredith - a podcast by Stephen Hammond

James Meredith becomes first African American student to graduate from the University of Mississippi. After many years in the military and two years at the all-black Jackson State College, James Meredith applied to the University of Mississippi in 1961, only to be denied admission on the basis of his race. He took the university to court and won his case at the U.S. Supreme Court, but it wasn’t enough. Mississippi’s governor, Ross Barnett, still refused him admission, and the State Congress passed laws to keep him out. After U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy intervened, Meredith was escorted onto campus in 1962 – amid thousands rioting against him. Gunfire crackled, Molotov cocktails exploded and bricks whizzed through the air. By the time the crowd had dispelled, two people were dead, 28 marshals had been shot and many others had been wounded. But Meredith had passed through the doors. On August 18, 1963, he became the first African American student to graduate from “Ole Miss.”

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