James Meredith, Civil Rights and American Education

There have been several occasions during the history 20th century America where public education and civil rights issues crossed paths. The first notable instance was in 1954 with the landmark US Supreme Court decision in Brown vs. The Board of Education of Topeka. The court ruled that the use of separate but equal educational facilities for black students was unconstitutional and led to the desegregation of America’s public schools. The ruling led to a mass exodus of white families to the suburbs and the establishment of white private school in the south. The tipping point of this issue was the events that took place at Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas in 1957. The “ Little Rock Nine” were selected to integrate the school and lead to a confrontation between state and federal law enforcement officers and the citizens of the community. This incident placed civil right and education front and center in America's public conscience.

At the college level, the seminal story of civil rights and America’s education system was centered on James Meredith. Meredith was born in 1933 and raised on a farm. After high school he spent nine years in the US Army Air Corps. When he returned to civilian life he enrolled in Jackson State College, an all black school. In 1961 Meredith applied to the University of Mississippi and was accepted. However when the Registrar’s Office discovered that he was African –American, they rescinded the offer of admission. Meredith filed suit claiming that since the University of Mississippi was a public institution, the ruling of Brown vs. the Board of Education applied to his case. In an ongoing battle between Mississippi Governor Ross Barnett, Meredith and the NAACP, US Attorney General Robert Kennedy sent 500 US Marshalls to Mississippi to ensure that Meredith was able to matriculate.

Meredith went on to get involved in the civil rights movement  and was shot in 1966 by a white gunman. Meredith obtained a law degree from Columbia and spent his career as an  activist for the civil rights movement.

In the final analysis, an understanding of the success of public education in America and the civil rights movement go hand in hand. We need to convince the broader community that education is important for all Americans and that the barriers to success need to come down at every level.

c.2015 J. Margolis