James Meredith

September

James Meredith

25 Jan 1933 -

In 1961 James applied to the all-white University of Mississippi. His application was accepted until the registrar discovered his race and this admission was withdrawn. James filed a lawsuit alleging discrimination which the US Supreme Court ruled in his favour. Governor Ross Barnett, defied the Court order and blocked James' entrance to the University and President Kennedy sent federal troops to Mississippi to escort James onto the campus.

James graduated in 1963 with a degree in political science and eventually also gained a master's degree in economics from the University of Ibadan and a law degree from Columbia University in 1968