American History TV

Integration of the University of Mississippi

James Meredith with James McShane & John Doar (1962)

Boston, Massachusetts
Saturday, September 22, 2012

50 years ago in the fall of 1962, James Meredith became the first African American to attend the University of Mississippi. His enrollment set off civil rights demonstrations and a confrontation over the integration of the University between the Kennedy administration and Mississippi Governor Ross Barnett. This event was held in 2002 on the 40th anniversary of the incident, and includes comments by James Meredith and two former members of the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, John Doar and Burke Marshall.

Updated: Friday, September 21, 2012 at 9:09am (ET)