History

• James Meredith was born on June 25, 1933, in Kosciusko, Mississippi. Meredith was one of 10 children born to a poor family. He decided that he wanted to go to the University of Mississippi after visiting a white doctor who had graduated from there. From 1951 to 1960 Meredith served in the Air Force; he then attended college at Jackson State College. In 1961 he decided to apply to the University of Mississippi.
  
  

Struggles

• After being rejected twice from the University of Mississippi, Meredith filed a complaint with the district court on May 31, 1961. Meredith claimed that he had been denied admission to the university because of the color of his skin, but the district court rejected his allegations. On appeal, this ruling was reversed. Meredith's admission to the university was opposed by state officials and students, and U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy sent federal marshals to protect Meredith from mobs.
  
  

Accomplishments

• James Meredith's greatest accomplishment was probably being the first African-American student admitted into the University of Mississippi. Following his 1964 graduation, he published "Three Years in Mississippi" in 1966. To further protest against racism and segregation, Meredith led the March Against Fear from Memphis, Tennessee, to Jackson, Mississippi, on June 5, 1966. He was shot by a sniper during this march, but he recovered and rejoined on June 25. In 1968 he earned his law degree at Columbia University.
  
  

The Present

• In 1995 Meredith published "Mississippi: A Volume of Eleven Books," and in 1997 the University of Mississippi accepted Meredith's donations of the original papers, which are now in special keeping. Meredith continues to travel around to various colleges to give lectures about his experiences applying to and attending the University of Mississippi.
  
  

Benefits

• James Meredith's courage was beneficial for the civil rights movement and for the future of America. It was because of James Meredith that the federal courts forced the University of Mississippi to desegregate, and more schools followed the trend as a result. We now live in a country where it is illegal to deny someone from a school on account of their race, and this freedom is largely because of James Meredith.