James Meredith

James Meredith
James Meredith in 1962
Born	James Howard Meredith (1933-06-25) June 25, 1933 Kosciusko, Mississippi
Education	University of Mississippi; Columbia Law School, LL.B.
Known for	becoming the first black student at the University of Mississippi

James Howard Meredith (born June 25, 1933) is an American Civil Rights Movement figure, writer, and political adviser. In 1962, he was an Air Force veteran and the first African-American student admitted to the segregated University of Mississippi. His admission was reversed when the school learned of his race, but the U.S. Federal government intervened to allow Meredith to begin his studies. He graduated with a degree in political science in 1963. In 1966, Meredith was shot while marching to encourage black citizens to vote. He survived the shooting and rejoined the march later.

Other websites

• University of Mississippi biography (Archive)
• James Meredith Collection (MUM00293), University of Mississippi, Archives and Special Collections.]
• James Meredith Small Manuscripts (MUM00594), University of Mississippi.]
• "Mississippi and Meredith remember", 30 September 2002, CNN
• Associated Press: "Meredith ready to move on" Archived 2007-10-16 at the Wayback Machine
• "The Integration of the University of Mississippi", U.S. Marshals Service
• "On this day in History: 1 October 1962", BBC
• Facsimiles of letters to the Justice Department and Thurgood Marshall Archived 2005-09-14 at the Wayback Machine, Kennedy Library
• James Meredith's Letter to the Justice Department February 7, 1961, 02/07/1961 Archived October 6, 2014, at the Wayback Machine , National Archives
• James Meredith's oral history video excerpts Archived 2009-01-09 at the Wayback Machine, The National Visionary Leadership Project
• James Meredith's website Archived 2014-12-17 at the Wayback Machine