James Meredith was forceably admitted into OM in 1962. OM, Ross Barnett and the IHL deserve all the credit for oppossing his admission, the ensuing riots and all that followed. It took OM decades to overcome that nightmare but the healing began in earnest in 1976 when the student body elected Ben Williams, OM's first black football player, as Col. Reb. That healing is still ongoing but a recent strong sign of the rejection of racism was evident when the entire squads of OM and MS football teams marched for a new state flag and HCs Leach and Kiffin (two new residents of the state) along with SEC Commissioner Sankey stood against a state flag with confederate symbols. Kylin Hill from MS played a critical role in this effort by announcing he would not play for MS if the flag was not changed--a really courageous move on his part.
Meanwhile, back to the facts, MS admitted its first Black student in 1965, three years after Meredith's admission. Southern Miss and Milsaps admitted their first black students the same year, 1965. Belhaven admitted its first black student in the early 70s. So these campuses were lily white for three years (or more) after Meredith's forced admission--was that just an incredible accident or was that by design--we all know the correct answer. An example was made at OM for good reason--OM racism was overt--but the racial barrier at MS and other colleges in Mississippi was identical but less overt. The shame of this hatred does not reside within any one segment or any one university in our state--though OM has deservedly paid the greatest price--this hatred and ignorance was perpetuated, with few exceptions, by white Mississippians and our government, churches and nearly all of our institutions across the board. One can only hope that we continue to make progress with race relations in the future.
