James Meredith and Ole’ Miss

Integration, Miss. Univ - beginning of riots

Credit: Library of Congress

Essential Question:

How did individuals and groups resist the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education?


 

 

After being honorably discharged from the United States Air Force, James Meredith decided to pursue higher education. After his application to the all-white University of Mississippi was rejected multiple times, Meredith contacted Thurgood Marshall. Marshall offered his support and that of the Legal Defense Fund to integrate the University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss. The Supreme Court eventually ruled in favor of Meredith and argued that he should be allowed to attend classes.

The governor of Mississippi strongly opposed integrating any school, including Ole Miss. To help Meredith, President John F. Kennedy sent federal marshals to help Meredith register. They tried three times, but state troops blocked them. Kennedy increased the size of the federal force on campus, and a violent clash between the federal forces and students opposed to integration followed. 160 deputies were injured during the conflict. Once Meredith was registered, the deputies remained in Mississippi to protect him throughout the school year.

Play the video clip for 1962 news footage that covered the Meredith case and consider these questions:

  • Why did the federal government get involved in the Meredith case?
  • How did President Kennedy justify this federal intervention?


The Civil Rights Act of 1964

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a groundbreaking piece of legislation that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The law ended legal segregation in any place of public accommodation, which included places like restaurants, libraries, hotels, and theaters. It also outlawed employment discrimination based on the same factors. Unlike earlier civil rights legislation, the law also gave the federal government effective power to enforce its provisions.

Examine the following graph, which shows the percentage of Black students in the South attending schools with a majority of White students from 1954 to 2010.

 

  • Based on what you have learned so far in this lesson, why did the percentage of Black students in majority White schools not increase significantly after Brown v. Board of Education was decided in 1954?
  • Based on the graph, how did the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 impact Black students?

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