Finding Aids >> 00293

James Howard Meredith was born on June 25, 1933, in Kosciusko, Mississippi, and raised on his family's eighty-four-acre farm in Attala County. After graduation from St. Petersburg (Florida) High School in 1951, he served in the U.S. Air Force from 1951 to 1960, including a three-year tour of duty at Tackikawa Airforce Base in Japan.

He returned to his home state determined to become the first African American to attend The University of Mississippi. He attended Jackson State College from 1960 to 1961, and applied for admission to The University of Mississippi in January 1961. The state took several measures to prevent his admission. In February, the University sent Meredith a telegram denying his admission. When Meredith's responses to this telegram went unanswered, he filed suit with the assistance of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Legal Defense Fund. After a protracted court battle, the United States Supreme Court ruled on September 10, 1962, that Meredith was to be admitted to the University. Governor Ross Barnett tried to prevent Meredith's enrollment by assuming the position of registrar and blocking his admission. On September 30, 1962, when a deal was reached between Governor Barnett and U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy to allow Meredith to enroll, a riot broke out on campus. A mob of angry whites confronted U. S. marshals stationed on campus to protect Meredith. The crowd assaulted the marshals with bricks and bullets outside the Lyceum, the university's administration building, until the arrival of federal troops quelled the violence in the early morning hours. Two bystanders died in the confrontation, 206 marshals and soldiers were wounded, and two hundred individuals were arrested. James Meredith was finally allowed to register for courses in October 1962.

Messages of support for Meredith arrived from all over the world, including from Rosa Parks, Josephine Baker, and Langston Hughes. However, Meredith was ostracized by most of his fellow students at the University and needed twenty-four-hour protection from marshals. As a result, he described himself as "the most segregated Negro in America." The broadside "Rebel Resistance" was created by students, in collaboration with the Citizens' Council, to urge students to avoid any association with Meredith. Federal troops remained on campus for over a year to ensure his safety. In spite of these challenges, Meredith graduated with a bachelor's degree in August 1963. He went on to earn his LL.B in 1968 from Columbia University Law School.

A civil rights activist, businessman, politician, and author, Meredith has dedicated his life to supporting individual rights. Aside from being the first African American to attend The University of Mississippi, Meredith is noted for leading the 1966 "March Against Fear" from Memphis to Jackson in protest of the physical violence that African Americans faced while exercising their right to vote. When Meredith was shot on the second day of the march, civil rights leaders, including Martin Luther King, Jr., stepped in to complete the march. Meredith campaigned on behalf of a number of black politicians in several states, and in 1972 ran unsuccessfully for a congressional seat. In 1989, he joined the staff of North Carolina's arch-conservative Senator Jesse Helms. In 1996, he led the "Black Man's March to the Library." He is the author of numerous publications, including Three Years in Mississippi, which describes his experience integrating The University of Mississippi, and Mississippi: A Volume of Eleven Books.

The James H. Meredith Collection documents the family, educational, and professional life of James Meredith, the first African American student to attend The University of Mississippi. The collection is housed in 146 archival boxes and is approximately 86 linear feet in extent. It spans the years from 1950 through 1997 but focuses primarily on the years from 1960 through 1990.

Items within each series have been arranged chronologically. Within each year the materials have been divided into subject categories. The earlier years have item-level description; later years have box/folder listings with significant items noted.

For the most part the Meredith Collection arrived without a systematic arrangement imposed by its creator, but Meredith did maintain folders on various subjects. The materials in each of these folders have been maintained as a unit even though they usually span several years. These files are identified as "Meredith Subject Files" in the inventory. Each subject file has been placed in the overall collection's chronological arrangement based on the date of the last item in the folder. The date span of items in the folder has been noted in the inventory.

Series 1, Papers 1952-1961, contains business and professional papers, family records, and personal papers covering Meredith's life from 1952 to 1961, including his military service and studies at Jackson State College.

Series 2 and 3, spanning the period 1962 to 1969, contain extensive documentation of Meredith's battle to enroll at The University of Mississippi in 1962, including his correspondence with the NAACP and all of the positive and negative letters he received from around the world during his ordeal. It also covers his later civil rights activities, including the James Meredith Educational Fund and the 1966 "March Against Fear" from Memphis to Jackson. In addition, it contains material related to family matters, his attendance at Columbia Law School, speaking engagements, and publication of Three Years in Mississippi.

Series 4 and 5, covering the 1970s, contain correspondence and printed material covering Meredith's political activism on behalf of various candidates, his campaigns for Congress and Hinds County Tax Assessor, and various business ventures.

Series 6 contains the records of Outlook magazine, a publication created by Meredith Enterprises, including copies of the magazine, drafts, financial documents, subscription records, layouts, research, and general correspondence. These records date from the 1970s.

Series 7 documents Meredith's interests in Africa and Pan-African affairs from 1965 to 1989, including extensive correspondence with business people, diplomats, and activists in several countries, particularly Nigeria.

Series 8 and 9, spanning the 1980s, consist of correspondence and printed material regarding Meredith's public engagements, writings, academic endeavors such as the Meredith Educational Institution, family relationships, legal affairs, conferences, business ventures, political activism, and his tenure with Senator Jesse Helms. Also included are Meredith's subject files on race, higher education, and law.

Series 10 and 11, covering the 1990s, contain files from his work as Special Assistant to Senator Jesse Helms, publications, manuscripts, notes, financial and business documents, subject files on various topics and current events, and materials related to his speaking engagements, political activism, and publicity. Series 11 also contains undated documents similar to those found in the earlier series.

Series 12, Audiovisual Materials, contains audio cassette tapes, videos, and film from 1984 to 1995, as well as many undated items, including 163 audio cassettes, one 8mm film reel, one Beta video, six VHS cassettes, and six floppy disks.

Series 13, Oversize Materials, contains posters, certificates, awards, oversize newspaper clippings from 1963 to 1996, scrapbooks, and maps.

Series 14, Photographs, contains prints and negatives, primarily depicting James Meredith's family and later career.

Series 15, Publications, contains a variety of magazines and journals collected by Meredith.

The James H. Meredith Collection is arranged into the following sections:

This collection is protected from unauthorized copying by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code).

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