James Meredith

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Biographical Background:

-Born June 25, 1933 in Kosciusko, Mississippi.

-He served in the Air Force from 1951 to 1960.

-He attended Jackson State College for two years.

Court Cases:

-Meredith filed a complaint with the district court on May 31, 1961, because he was twice rejected from the University of Mississippi.

-He claimed that he had been discriminated against because of his color.

-Finally, the Fifth Judicial Circuit Court decided that indeed, Meredith had been denied enrollment due to his race.

Involvement in the Civil Rights Movement:

-In October 1962, Kennedy deployed 400 federal marshals and 3000 troops to enroll Meredith in his first class at the University of Mississippi.

-The class was in Colonial American History.

-He was the first African-American student to enroll.

-In the riots that ensued after mobilization, two men died.

-On June 5th, 1966, James Meredith initiated the famous March Against Fear, a protest against racism that traveled from Memphis to Jackson.

-By the late 1960s, Meredith had ended his career as a civil right activist and became a stockbroker.

Citations:

-Cummings, R. (1997). James meredith. Retrieved Apr. 17, 2006, from Mississippi Writers Page Web site: http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/english/ms-writers/dir/meredith_james/.

-Bailey, T. (2002). The american pageant. 12th ed. New York: Houghton Mifflin.