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The Ole Miss riot of 1962 (September 30 – October 1, 1962), also known as the Battle of Oxford, [2] was a race riot that occurred at the University of Mississippi—commonly called Ole Miss—in Oxford, Mississippi, as segregationist rioters sought to prevent the enrollment of African American applicant James Meredith. [3]
- Brown v. Board of Education
- Ole Miss
- Ross Barnett
- Integration in The South
The landmark 1954 Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education declared that racial segregation in educational and other facilities violated the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which granted equal protection of the law to any person within its jurisdiction. This verdict effectively overturned the “separate but equal” mandate set in 1896 ...
In the years leading up to the incident at the University of Mississippi(aka “Ole Miss”), African Americans had begun to be admitted in small numbers to other white colleges and universities in the South without too much incident. James Meredith was studying at the all-black Jackson State College from 1960 to 1962; during this time he applied repea...
State officials, including Governor Ross Barnett, attempted to defy the Supreme Court decision, provoking a constitutional crisis between the state of Mississippiand the federal government. When Meredith arrived at the school’s Oxford, Mississippi, campus under the protection of federal forces, including U.S. marshals, a mob of more than 2,000 stud...
The incident at Ole Miss was not the only battle fought in the Deep South over integration of higher education. In Alabama, the notoriously segregationist Governor George Wallacevowed to “stand in the schoolhouse door” in order to block the enrollment of a black student at the University of Alabama. Though Wallace was eventually forced by the feder...
Mar 25, 2018 · On the evening of Sunday, September 30, 1962, Southern segregationists rioted and fought state and federal forces on the campus of the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) in Oxford, Mississippi to prevent the enrollment of the first African American student to attend the university, James Meredith, a U.S. military veteran.
James Meredith officially became the first African American student at the University of Mississippi on October 2, 1962. He was guarded twenty-four hours a day by reserve U.S. deputy marshals and army troops, and he endured constant verbal harassment from a minority of students.
Feb 9, 2010 · In Oxford, Mississippi, James H. Meredith, an African American student, is escorted onto the University of Mississippi campus by U.S. Marshals, setting off a deadly riot. Two men were...
- Missy Sullivan
- 4 min
Oct 1, 2012 · Fifty years ago — Oct. 1, 1962 — the first black student was admitted to the University of Mississippi, a bastion of the Old South. The town of Oxford erupted.
Aug 2, 2022 · On October 1, 1962, the University of Mississippi was officially integrated with the admission of its first African American student James Meredith. The images, personal accounts, and artifacts in this exhibit exemplify the infamous and deadly Ole Miss Riot, a final segregationist opposition to Meredith’s year-long battle for admission.
