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| University of Mississippi, United States (Oxford, Mississippi)
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| Information |
The Ole Miss
Founded in 1848, the University of Mississippi was nicknamed the "Ole Miss" decades later in 1897. The name is not a reference to the state of Mississippi. Instead the nickname originates from what slaves called the wives of their owners. The school instructs close to 18,000 students a year, making it the largest university in the state of Mississippi. The university sits in Oxford, Mississippi (one of the top 6 college towns according to USA Today).
In 1935, the university's sports teams were renamed from the "Mississippi Flood" to the "Ole Miss Rebels." There are multiple teams, covering football, basketball, baseball and other sports for both men and women. The school has been criticized for the Confederate overtones of the teams' name and mascot (Colonel Reb).
The mascot has changed over the years from a Confederate soldier to a Southern plantation owner stereotype. Further attempts to change the mascot have been met with resistance and apparently the mascot is currently not allowed at games. Merchandise bearing the likeness of Colonel Reb was banned from the campus for a time, but has been making a comeback.
The American Civil War
During the American Civil War, a large portion of the university's student population enlisted in the Confederate Army. There were enough students that they had their own company, known as the "University Grays." The University Grays suffered an enormous number of casualties during the Battle of Gettysburg, particularly during the Confederate assault known as Pickett's Charge. In fact, not a single member of the University Grays was left standing after the assault. While their company penetrated the Union lines farther than any other, they all lay dead, dying or wounded in the wake of the charge.
The university's former school of medicine was used as a hospital for wounded soldiers. The hospital provided care for both Union and Confederate casualties. The dead from the hospital were buried in a mass grave on the property. The grave lies near the Northwest corner of the C.M. "Tad" Smith Coliseum. An urban legend spread among the university students states that a ghost will visit any student foolhardy enough to sit on any of the graves at night.
The medical school was torn down in the 1970s. The university's chemistry building now stands in its place.
Desegragation Rioting
On September 30, 1962, the Ole Miss was the scene of rioting that spilled over into the streets of Oxford. James H. Meredith, a 29 year old African-American veteran of the US armed forces, had had his application to attend the school rejected a year prior. The rejection was based on his ethnicity. The rejections caused Meredith to file a lawsuit against the university on May 31, 1961. On September 10, 1962, a federal district court ordered the University of Mississippi to allow James Meredith to attend as a student.
In response, the state board of trustees named Mississippi Governor Ross Barnett, an extreme supporter of segregation, as registrar of the university. Barnett used the position to once again block James Meredith from the school. Thanks to the efforts of the NAACP, Thurgood Marshall, Robert Kennedy, John F. Kennedy and others, Meredith was finally allowed to register for classes on October 1, 1962.
On September 29, Ross Barnett gave a brief speech at a University of Mississippi football game. Standing before hundreds of fans waving Confederate flags, Barnett delivered a speech about how he loved Mississippi and its customs and heritage. It was clear as to what customs and heritage he was speaking of.
On the night of September 30, the campus and the city of Oxford became chaotic as a large group of Caucasian students started a riot that increased in size as other locals from the surrounding towns joined in. US Marshals, National Guard and Federal Troops did what they could to preserve the peace. The rioting lasted 15 hours and stretched into the next day as rioters burned vehicles, damaged property and assaulted troops with rocks, bricks, bottles and, in some cases, gunfire. They even stole a fire engine and a bulldozer to use in the rioting. The bulldozer was used twice in unsuccessful attacks on the US Marshals. The fire engine was used to cause destruction to property.
The Mississippi Highway Patrol was witnessed to stand idly by while the rioting went on. The same patrol officers had been called in on previous occasions to block James Meredith from enrolling as a student. Some of the officers publicly stated support of the rioters.
Gunfire took the lives of two men. Ray Gunter, a jukebox repairman from a nearby town was shot in the forehead. Paul Guihard, a visiting journalist from France, was fatally shot in the back. Neither man appeared to have been an intended target. A US Marshal was also shot through the neck, but survived his injuries. Many more were injured during the rioting.
The rioting eventually ended. James Meredith succeeded in beginning desegregation of the school, though he faced years of harassment as a student. He was shunned in the cafeteria and kept awake by other students deliberately bouncing basketballs on the floor above his dorm room all night. He eventually graduated and went on to University of Ibadan in Nigeria. In 2002, he watched his son, Joeseph Meredith, graduate from the University of Mississippi as well. The university now has a student population that is 14% African-American.
On September 26, 2008, the University of Mississippi became the site of the first presidential candidate debate where one of the candidates was of African-American descent. |
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| Related Sites |
The University of Mississippi
Web site for the University of Mississippi, site of a mass riot in 1962. |
Wikipedia: University of Mississippi
Wikipedia entry for the University of Mississippi. |
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| Similar Destinations |
| Old Idaho Penitentiary |
| The Old State House Museum |
| Carnton Plantation |
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| See Also on TheCabinet.com |
| Blog: Riot at the Ole Miss (09/30/08) |
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| Available from Amazon.com |
An American Insurrection: James Meredith and the Battle of Oxford, Mississippi, 1962 |
1962 JAMES MEREDITH MISSISSIPPI BLACK INTEGRATION PHOTO |
The Gettysburg Companion: A Guide to the Most Famous Battle of the Civil War |
Haunted Halls: Ghostlore of American College Campuses |
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