James Howard Meredith is an American civil rights activist, writer, political adviser, and United States 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. 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. The admission of Meredith ignited the Ole Miss riot of 1962 where Meredith's life was threatened and 31,000 American servicemen were required to quell the violence – the largest ever invocation of the Insurrection Act of 1807.
Meredith in 1962
U.S. Army trucks loaded with steel-helmeted federal agents roll across the University of Mississippi campus on October 3, 1962.
James Meredith wounded
Meredith and Judy Alsobrooks in 1982
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and it is the second largest by enrollment.
James Meredith accompanied by federal officials on campus
The university owns Rowan Oak, former home of Nobel Prize-winning writer William Faulkner and a National Historic Landmark.
Panoramic view of the courtyard behind the Lyceum (1848)
Barnard Observatory (1859) was designed to house the world's largest telescope.