INTEGRATION at Ole Miss
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RE: University of Mississippi at Oxford: Integration
Further information: Ole Miss riot of 1962
James Meredith accompanied by federal officials on campus
In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional.[34]
Eight years after the Brown decision, all attempts by African American applicants to enroll at the University of Mississippi had failed.[35][36]
Shortly after the 1961 inauguration of President John F. Kennedy, James Meredith—an African American Air Force veteran and former student at Jackson State University—applied to the University of Mississippi.[37]
After months of obstruction by Mississippi officials, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered Meredith's enrollment, and the Department of Justice under Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy entered the case on Meredith's behalf.[35][38]
On three occasions, either governor Ross R. Barnett or lieutenant governor Paul B. Johnson Jr. physically blocked Meredith's entry to the campus.[39][40]