October 1, 1962 - James Meredith became the first black American to attend classes at the University of Mississippi in Oxford. In the nearly two years Meredith spent trying to register for classes at then all-white “Ole Miss,” he had to file a federal lawsuit and, ultimately, be escorted through registration by U.S. Justice department attorney John Doar, protected by U.S. Army troops.

The night before whites had rioted and attacked U.S. Marshalls after Mississippi Highway Patrol officers withdrew as the crowd became larger and more unruly.

President John F. Kennedy and Attorney General Robert Kennedy sent the troops and federalized the state’s National Guard to enforce the federal court’s order which Governor Ross Barnett refused to accept.

Meredith went on to graduate in 1964 and still lives nearby.

#JamesMeredith

📜 This Day in History — Oct 1
Empire falls. A republic rises. A mouse builds a kingdom. A man climbs Ole Miss. A castle crumbles.

Poetry, myth, and memory—bound by rhyme and boba.

🧃 Sound: Buck Owens – Act Naturally
🌀 Sip: Free boba at Dumpling Master

👉 Read: https://wittgensteinsmonster.substack.com/p/this-day-in-history-october-1

#Poetry #History #AlexanderTheGreat #JamesMeredith #JimmyCarter #Dubrovnik #Disney #Spooky #October1

June 6, 1966 - James H. Meredith, the first African American ever to attend the University of Mississippi, was shot by a sniper in the back and legs while on a lone "March Against Fear."

He was walking the 220 miles from Memphis, Tennessee, to Jackson, Mississippi, to encourage others to stand up for their rights and self-respect, and to register to vote. Law enforcement officers and reporters following him witnessed the attack, and the shooter was arrested.

#JamesMeredith

See our latest post on the integration of Ole Miss by James Meredith. #JamesMeredith #OleMiss #Desegregation #Integration

https://zurl.co/2XtQ

#otd
Oxford Town, Oxford Town
Ev’rybody’s got their heads bowed down
The sun don’t shine above the ground
Ain’t a-goin’ down to Oxford Town
- Robert Zimmerman

(Also Phil Ochs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PLFKimdUOA )

Ole Miss riot of 1962
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ole_Miss_riot_of_1962#Eliot

James Meredith
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Meredith

#education #Mississippi #university
#JamesMeredith

Today in Labor History September 10, 1962: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Civil Rights Leader, James Meredith, could be admitted to the University of Mississippi. White rioters burned cars, pelted federal agents and soldiers with rocks, bricks and shot at them. 31,000 soldiers were sent to quell the violence, the largest ever use of the Insurrection Act of 1807. Two people died. Meredith was harassed throughout his time at the university. He went on to organize the March against Fear from Memphis to Jackson. He also was active in the Voting Rights movement. He went on to become an adviser to the right-wing, segregationist Senator Jesse Helms.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #civilrights #jimcrow #racism #university #students #jamesmeredith #mississippi #whitesupremacy

Texas is putting legislation into effect that bans DEI offices on state university campuses.

Although there is much to criticize in recent higher education DEI policies, abolition of these offices seems wrong to me. Instead, universities should refocus the mission of these offices away from "diversity" to the educational progress, welfare, and social advancement of African Americans on campus.

Noting that the distinctive subjugation of African Americans requires distinctive compensatory measures if they are to share in the power and wealth from which they have been unjustly excluded is neither to dismiss injustices suffered by other minorities nor to issue a blanket endorsement of the liberal capitalist order. It is a matter of recognizing the contours of American history.

Those inclined to dismiss the importance of white supremacist hatred of African Americans in higher education need to (re)view footage from Ole Miss in 1962 - that is, within the lifetime of a significant proportion of the US population.

#USHigherEducation #DEI #UniversityOfMississippi #JamesMeredith #WhiteSupremacy #AfricanAmericanHistory #USHistory #Texas

https://youtu.be/MTi89zcmhX0?si=Ts2403Mm2omHIeTA

Today in Labor History September 10, 1962: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Civil Rights Leader, James Meredith, could be admitted to the University of Mississippi. White rioters burned cars, pelted federal agents and soldiers with rocks, bricks and shot at them. 31,000 soldiers were sent to quell the violence, the largest ever use of the Insurrection Act of 1807. Two people died. Meredith was harassed throughout his time at the university. He went on to organize the March against Fear from Memphis to Jackson. He also was active in the Voting Rights movement. He went on to become an adviser to the right-wing, segregationist Senator Jesse Helms.

#WorkingClass #LaborHistory #CivilRights #racism #JimCrow #segregation #JamesMeredith #OleMiss #Riot #SCOTUS