12019-03-12T23:56:50+00:00Stanford University Pressaf84c3e11fe030c51c61bbd190fa82a3a1a1282413plainpublished2019-08-21T13:59:57+00:00AnonymousGuest post by Christian Ruggiero, undergraduate student at Manhattan College.
On October 1, 1962, the Chicago Defendergossip column described how James Meredith, the first African-American man to be accepted to the University of Mississippi, had won a battle in the Civil Rights “war.” A satirical character, Ole Nosey, describes Meredith as “the No. 1 war hero of this decade,” and finishes the sentence by stating that “if that isn’t a war down in Mississippi, than what is?” Meredith being accepted into the University of Mississippi reflected the progress made by the civil rights movement in the previous years.
The Defender’s front page also featured Meredith, with a banner headline reading, “Mississippi Surrenders!: Meredith To Enroll Today; Tear Gas Routs Students.” (Click to view article PDF.)
