James Meredith
And his effects on the civil rights
Abstract
James Meredith is the first African-American to attend the University of Mississippi and a civil right activist. Him, attending a segregated university was a turning point in African-American independence and civil rights movement. He got his degree in law and then started his political activity. In 1966 he was shot by a gunman because he had started a 220-mile march from Memphis, Tennessee to Jackson, Mississippi in order to object to racism (Spartacus-Educational.com) and encourage colored-skin people to protest for their rights and more importantly, to get African Americans the right to vote. When he was brought to hospital, his political counterparts promised to continue the march in his stead, therefore 15000 people marched to Jackson. The march turned out to be a huge success in making more African Americans to protest for their rights (newsinfo.iu.edu). His political activities has had a massive improvement on the civil rights of the African American society inside the United States of America and also throughout the world.
Childhood
Meredith was born in 1933 in Mississippi. He lived on a farm with his brothers and sisters. James was only fifteen when something happened to him that made him vow to dedicate his life to gaining civil rights for the African-American society. According to Biografy.com, he was riding on a train with his brother when he was forced to give up his seat and stand with other black people at the end of the train for the whole trip.
Education and Early Political Activities
After finishing high school, Meredith joined the Army Air Force and spent nine years (from 1951 until 1960) there. Then he enrolled in an all-black college named Jackson State College in Mississippi, from where he decided to be transferred to the University of Mississippi, as he was inspired by the president John F. Kennedy. He insisted on applying to a state-funded university in order to show the world he is able to achieve his civil rights in the society he lives in. Having always been a good student, he was admitted, but when the authorities of the university found out about his race and color (biography.com), they abolished his admission. By then, all the universities throughout the United States had been ordered to be desegregated. So Meredith decided to bring this case to the court, claiming that despite his good grades and successful educational achievements, he is being deprived of his right to register to the university just because of his race. He was able to take the case to the U.S Supreme Court, which defended him.
Though the court had ruled in Meredith’s favor, he was not able to register for the classes on first attempt. The University entrance was blocked by the Governor of Mississippi, Ross Barnett and James was not allowed to enter. When informed, President John F. Kennedy sent the police force to the area, along with 500 U.S marshals sent by the Attorney General. According to CNN website, Later on in 2002 in his interview with CNN, he says about that day: “I was engaged in a war. I considered myself engaged in a war from Day One. And my objective was to force the federal government into a position where they would have to use the United States military force to enforce my rights as a citizen.”
Eight days later the governor was forced to stop violating the law of desegregation. He was threatened that otherwise; he must go to jail or pay $10,000 for any day he keeps Meredith out of the university. So he forfeited.
James Meredith studied political science in the university and graduated in 1963. His book, Three Years in Mississippi is written about his experiences during his college-life in the University of Mississippi, which was published in 1966.
Another important political act Meredith did about three years later was his March against Fear. He had planned to go on this March from Memphis to Jackson, in order to protest racism. As history.com narrates, only one day before the day of the March, he was shot by a sniper and brought to hospital. His fellow civil rights campaigners including Martin Luther King, Stokely Carmichael, Roy Wilkins, Whitney Young, and Floyd McKissick promised to perform the March instead of him.
According to Spartacus Educational, Stokely Carmichael’s famous Black Power speech was given when they reached Greenwood. Carmichael asked the black society to unify against racism and to build the community of their own. He also encouraged African-Americans to build their own organizations and establishments, and never to trust the white American values
Meredith joined the March when he was feeling better. The day after that, the March reached Jackson and was completed. According to pbs.org, the march triggered more than 4000 African-Americans to register to vote; it also gave them enough courage to enter the political area again.
In an election for the Congressional seat in Harlem in 1967, Meredith decided to run as a republican in order to oppose Adam Clayton Powell who was a democrat, but then he gave up and Powell was reelected. In 1927, he did the same thing in the US Senate against another democrat named James Eastland; again, he lost the election.
In 1960s, James Meredith joined the Republican Party. There, he called the white liberals the “greatest enemy” of African Americans and never seized attempting to get the people of color back the rights they have been deprived of.
Meredith’s activities and beliefs are significant to the people of the world and especially the African-Americans. His courageous deeds in order to free himself and other people who have been degraded due to the color of their skin throughout the history is what has made his name be heard by worldwide.
He has ran for a seat for a congressional seat as a republican several times and has been among the staff of North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms for a limited amount of time. In addition to Three Years in Mississippi, Meredith has published 24 other published books, according to jamesmeredithbooks.com. Some of them are: James Meredith vs. Ole Miss: 1960 to 1963, The Father of White Supremacy, The Father of White Supremacy and Letters To My Unborn Grandchildren in which he explains to his grandchildren why he did what he did.
Works Cited
“James Hod Meredith." Bio. A&E Television Networks, <
http://www.biography.com/people/james-meredith-9406314#synopsis > 2014. Web. 16 Dec. 2014.
Indiana “University, James Meredith, historic figure in civil rights movement, to visit IU Bloomington”, < http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news-archive/2160.html > Web. 16 Dec. 2014.
History, “Jun 6, 1966: James Meredith Shot” < http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/james-meredith-shot > Web. 16 Dec. 2014.
CNN, “Mississippi and Meredith remember” < http://edition.cnn.com/2002/US/South/09/30/meredith/index.html > Web. 16 Dec. 2014.
"James Meredith". HistoryLearningSite.co.uk. Web. 16 Dec. 2014.
Spartacus Educational, “James Meredith” < http://spartacus-educational.com/USAmeredith.htm > Web. 16 Dec. 2014.
Eyes on the Prize, The March Against Fear (1966), < http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/profiles/56_ms.html > Web. 16 Dec. 2014.
JamesMeredithBooks, Books, < http://jamesmeredithbooks.com/books.cfm > Web. 16 Dec. 2014.
