James H. Meredith

James Meredith at a press conference.
Description: James Meredith at a press conference.
Image copyright: www.indiana.edu/~ocmhp/052705/text/events.shtml
Opening the Doors for School Integration
"Nothing could be more insulting to me than the concept of civil rights. It means perpetual second-class citizenship for me and my kind." This quote is very powerful to me because Meredith was talking about purposes. What's the purpose of civil rights? We shouldn't have to fight for our rights in the first place, so what's the point? To me, I think that he finds it insulting that he is automatically born inferior because of the color of his skin, as I learned when researching his life.

Born June 25, 1933 in Kosciusko, Mississippi, James Meredith was one of the fathers of integration in public schools. He was the seventh of thirteen children. Because there we're no schools for blacks in the area, Meredith had to walk to school everyday. None of his teachers had a college degree. Meredith's parents moved him to Florida to live with his aunts and to get a better education. He graduated from Gibbs High School and joined the air force. Meredith married June Wiggins Meredith in 1956.

He attended Jackson State College, but he really wanted to go the University of Mississippi. He applied for admission, but was declined. He thought that he was denied because of his race. Political leaders such as Thurgood Marshall and Constance Baker Motley offered to help when they heard and he brought the conflict to court.Even though he lost the case, he didn’t stop enrolling to the University of Mississippi.

The lieutenant governor Paul Johnson personally denied his request for admission because he said that he would rather go to jail than admit a black person. This information was leaked to the press and eventually taken to court. Meredith was found guilty of contempt of federal court. Because of this, Meredith was admitted. He had to be escorted to school every day by army soldiers and lieutenants by orders of President John F. Kennedy.

Meredith organized what is called the March Against Fear. This was organized in order to promote black voting rights. He worked with Martin Luther King and helped organize the March on Washington. He always opposed white civil rights leaders who he thought were not really true to the cause. He once said, “Liberal whites are the greatest enemy of African-Americans.” He is still living and still promotes anti-racism and anti-segregation.

James Meredith is a hero to me because he knew what he wanted and worked to get it even though people stood in his way. He showed perseverance. When he wanted to go to school and receive and education, many people who were racist stood in his way. He also fought for the rights of African-Americans by organizing marches. People wanted him to stop, but he persevered. That’s why he is a hero to me.

He left a legacy on the world because his actions impacted the lives of future African-Americans. Because of Meredith, African-Americans are now allowed a good education and don’t have to settle for second best.


Sources of Information

Smith, Jessie Carney. “James H. Meredith.” Notable Black American Men. 1999

Cummings, Robert. “James Meredith.” The Mississippi Writers Page. 07 May 2003
6 Feb 2007. http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/english/ms-writers/dir/meredith_james/

"James Meredith." TeacherVision. 2007. Pearson Publishing Group. 8 Feb 2007. http://www.teachervision.fen.com/african-americans/biography-person/4592.html.
The Mississippi Writers Page

James Meredith-Teachervision

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