James Meredith Essay - Grade: A PDF

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Emily Lakic U.S. History 12/Period 1 Berman

James Meredith: A Hero to the Civil Rights Movement James Meredith, a famous American civil rights movement figure once said “walk against fear”. His intentions were to attain social justice and end white supremacy through strategic and constructive action in the early 20th century. Between 1865 and 1870, Congress made an attempt to improve living conditions for African Americans by granting citizenship, passing amendments to abolish slavery and extending voting rights to black men (Alvah par. 2). Though Congress’ intentions were relatively fair, the end of Reconstruction in 1877 brought about the continuation of further black oppression by the white population. Between the 1890s and 1920s came the introduction of Jim Crow laws, which worked to racially segregate public venues spanning from trains and restaurants to hospitals and schools. In response to these intimidation tactics, James Meredith along with many other African Americans led the fight against injustice to bring about equal opportunities for members of the minority group. These individuals were referred to as civil rights activists, who worked towards the common goal of making the country a more just and humane society for all. Their work comprised the start of the civil rights movement throughout the 1950s and 1960s. The civil rights movement “...encompassed [the] efforts of national leaders to obtain for [minority groups] the basic rights guaranteed to American citizens in the Constitution, including the rights to due process and ‘equal protection of the laws’" (Alvah par. 1). Leaders of this movement used a variety of different tactics in hopes of achieving their uniform goal of justice. Organized efforts such as public speaking tours, strikes, marches, the black press, boycotts, and the overall advocacy of racial equality made up the basis of what these leaders enforced. Several activists, such as W. E. B. Du Bois, formed the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which comprised the “...predominant American organization that pursued equality for blacks through the legal system” (Alvah, par. 3).

Emily Lakic U.S. History 12/Period 1 Berman

However, a few of these civil rights leaders, who often times do not receive as much credit for their participation in the movement as they should, pushed for a pivotal component lacking heavily amongst the black population: education. Two of these leaders were James Meredith and Autherine Lucy. As the first African Americans accepted into two separate universities, these individuals both endured numerous hardships in order to assist in the civil rights movement. While both James Meredith and Autherine Lucy implemented similar tactics in the fight for racial equality, James Meredith’s efforts had a greater influence on the civil rights movement than Autherine Lucy’s did. James Meredith made history by standing his grounds and demanding his dreams. A native to Mississippi, James Meredith experienced a rough childhood. Being raised in a “...small wood-framed house, which had no electricity or indoor plumbing on a 84-acre farm, [Meredith] grew up in a segregated and unequal America” (McGee & Coleman 15). Experiencing the after effects of the Great Depression in the deep south, James Meredith was exposed to the many factors that kept his family at the bottom of the economic ladder. Meredith noted the conditions the American blacks endured post-Great Depression, including massive poverty after the Civil War, unfair labor practices, and poor public educational systems (McGee & Coleman 16). Meredith proceeded to studying at Jackson State College for two years, but soon decided on a new approach. In the fall of 1962, James Meredith became the first African American to apply for admission to the all-white University of Mississippi (Hendrickson 91). However, Meredith’s pathway to the admissions office was blocked by an ordered white-supremacy mob by Governor Ross Barnett, which later grew to thousands as they fought off 500 federal marshals sent by General Robert Kennedy in protection of Meredith (Government Policy and Civil Rights: 1960s). Acknowledging his application to the University would cause numerous problems,

Emily Lakic U.S. History 12/Period 1 Berman

Meredith hoped for help from the federal government. Meredith looked to the newly elected president and advocate of civil rights, John F. Kennedy, for assistance. After hearing of the riots that erupted on the campus of the University of Mississippi, President John F. Kennedy issued an executive order. In his speech, Kennedy enforced that “all orders of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi remove all obstructions of justice in the State of Mississippi…[and ]the Secretary of Defense is authorized to use such of the armed forces of the United States as he may deem necessary” (EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 11053, 3 C.F.R. 19591963 COMP P.645 (1962)). Hearing of Meredith’s conditions at the University, “President John F. Kennedy dispatched paratroopers, military policemen, and National Guardsmen to Oxford, Mississippi, after mobs laid siege to federal marshals in an effort to keep a lone black man, James Meredith, from attending classes” (Gallagher & Roberts ix). With the campus successfully under control, Meredith attended classes under the tight supervision of guards. Just as James Meredith was the first African American to be enrolled in the University of Mississippi, civil rights activist Autherine Lucy was the first African American to be enrolled in the University of Alabama in 1952. Born in Marengo County, Alabama, the reserved and shy woman lived with her family on a 110-acre farm (Kaetz par. 2). Lucy was soon contacted by a close friend to enroll at the University of Alabama. In early September, Lucy and her friend were admitted to the college. However, Lucy was denied admittance after the administration found out her race. After a three-year court order through the efforts of the NAACP, Lucy was re-enrolled in 1956 (“This Week In Black History”). Soon enough, Lucy experienced an outflow of mob violence just as James Meredith had. Increasingly agitated groups of students and teachers at the university responded negatively to Lucy’s enrollment, and soon enough, the university’s Board of Trustees voted to expel Lucy from the school pertaining to her own safety.

Emily Lakic U.S. History 12/Period 1 Berman

Enrollment of African Americans in universities–more specifically those designated for the white population–seemed unthinkable in the 1960s. In 1954, the United States Supreme Court decision in Brown vs. Board of Education deemed desegregation a necessity nationally. In violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, which required equal protection of the laws, racial segregation was officially disbanded by the Supreme Court in its decision of the case. Unfortunately, the court’s decision on the case only applied to the districts that were parties to the case decided in Brown, while universities located in the south continued to implement segregation in their universities. These schools that had not voluntarily desegregated required individual court suits for any potential change in the education. Both James Meredith and Autherine Lucy had successfully pushed for change at the University of Mississippi and the University of Alabama, respectively. Their persistence to improve the educational system positively affected the black population after their continuous struggles to fight mobs of whites at their universities. However, their places within the civil rights movement was not only defined by their work with education. The extent to which James Meredith worked to help better the black community far outreached the efforts of Autherine Lucy. In July of 1998, James Meredith was shot by a sniper in Mississippi. In response to the violent measure, African American bus driver Sidney Street lit an American flag on fire and placed it on the sidewalk near where Meredith had been shot. After being questioned by the police, Street replied “‘If they let that happen to Meredith, we don't need an American flag’" (National Coalition Against Censorship). Street’s actions conveyed a sense of freedom and democracy, which was exactly what James Meredith offered the black community even after his education at the University of Mississippi. James Meredith continued his fight for black equality in the summer of 1966 as he initiated the “March Against Fear”. This march started in Memphis, Tennessee and ended in Jackson,

Emily Lakic U.S. History 12/Period 1 Berman

Mississippi, with the goal of encouraging blacks to vote. The march gained quite a bit of popularity, but was soon welcomed with three shots from a gun of an unemployed man from Memphis. Despite his injury, however, Meredith continued the march as nonviolent, insisting that those participating not carry weapons (American Experience). Meredith’s outlook of a nonviolent approach to gaining civil rights places him as a highly regarded civil rights activist who successfully encouraged blacks to overcome their fear of violence when they went to the polls to vote. While Meredith was successful outside of his educational protest, Autherine Lucy’s work for the civil rights movement digressed after her education at the University of Alabama. By 1956, Lucy fell out of the public eye, but still attempted to make a few speeches at NAACP events in Philadelphia and Texas (Kaetz par. 9). Comparing the accomplishments of the two civil rights activists, James Meredith successfully had a greater influence on the civil rights movement than Autherine Lucy did. While both leaders showed similar tactics to rebelling against the educational systems at their universities, James Meredith had an overall stronger influence on the black community through later movements such as the March Against Fear. His intentions to attain social justice were met and his views were highly respected and regarded upon other African Americans such as Sidney Street. The efforts of both James Meredith and Autherine Lucy, however, strengthened the civil rights movement to place African Americans one step closer to racial justice. Works Cited Alvah, Donna. "Civil Rights Movement." Encyclopedia of Southern Life. Detroit: Gale, 2007. Research in Context. Web. 12 Nov. 2015. American Experience. PBS, 23 Aug. 2006. Web. 10 Nov. 2015. "EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 11053, 3 C.F.R. 1959-1963 COMP P.645 (1962)." African American Almanac. Ed. Brigham Narins. 10th ed. Detroit: Gale, 2009. Research in Context. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.

Emily Lakic U.S. History 12/Period 1 Berman Gallagher, Henry, and Gene Roberts. James Meredith and the Ole Miss Riot: A Soldier's Story. U of Mississippi, 2012. Print. "Government Policy and Civil Rights: 1960s." DISCovering U.S. History. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Research in Context. Web. 12 Nov. 2015. Hendrickson, Paul. “The Dilemmas and Demons of James Meredith”. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education 40 (2003): 91–94. Web. 11 Nov. 2015. "Ida Bell Wells Barnett." DISCovering Multicultural America: African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Research in Context. Web. 12 Nov. 2015. Kaetz, James. "Autherine Lucy." Encyclopedia of Alabama. Alabama Humanities Foundation, 9 Nov. 2009. Web. 11 Nov. 2015. McGee, Meredith Coleman. "Path of a Warrior." James Meredith: Warrior and the America That Created Him. Praeger, 2013. Print. Rights in America. Woodbridge, CT: Primary Source Media, 1999. American Journey. Research in Context. Web. 12 Nov. 2015. "This Week In Black History." Jet 8 Feb. 1999: 20. Research in Context. Web. 12 Nov. 2015. National Coalition Against Censorship. "Statement Opposing a Flag Desecration Amendment." Civil...