'Ole Miss': Segregation In Mississippi

Mississippi is so … poor, racist, and unhealthy. These might be the top answers given if you asked anyone about their thoughts on Mississippi. Mississippi consistently tops the list of the poorest states in the nation. The history on the state of Mississippi past and present is still defined by its racist past. Today Mississippi tops the list of the fattest states. The Mississippi Delta region exhibits all these conditions in the worst degree.

The mississippians were a group of people from North America. They lived here about 2700 years ago. They were very different than what we are used to now.

Well, my essay is about Mississippi. It’s a great place to be. There all kinds of events you can participate in. Blues music its part of Mississippi’s culture. This music comes from slaves in the fields, singing about their struggles, their conditions and their sorry. Many of the songs carried secret messages of escaping the plantation life. The music told of life experiences as slaves knew them. The stories sung about in their music went back before the Civil War and even to the western coast of Africa where men, women and children were captured and sold into slavery and brought to America as slave laborers to work in Southern plantations. The Mississippi Delta is considered to be the birthplace of the Blues, with

Mississippi has a very rich history, and its history has made it the glorious state it is today.

Mississippi is in the United States that is located in the southern United States. The name of the state derived from the Mississippi river which flows along the western boundary. Mississippi is lowest median household income. Mississippi is covered by wild trees such as pine, pecan, and sweet gum. Mississippi has more acres of cotton than soybeans. Mississippi is the second cotton production in the United States and Texas is the first state.

Throughout this essay, I will be examining the effects of one of the most controversial university enrollments. James Meredith paved the way for African American acceptance into a historically all White University. No matter how much adversity Meredith would encounter, he would not give up or give in to institutional racism. The want to keep Ole Miss segregated by those there did not hinder his success. In an attempt to end racial segregation, the Supreme Court ordered the admittance of James Meredith to the campus. This action was a clear defiance of racial segregation. This resulted in an abundant amount of not only riots but also casualties. Meredith paved the way for other African-Americans

In Spite of the devastating history of segregation in the United States. A lot has changed in the past fifty years since segregation ended. The United States shifted from arresting African Americans for using “white only” facilities to integrated schools all over the country. Influential individuals such as Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr helped pave the way for African Americans to live as equals to along with their white counterparts in the United States of America.

James Meredith’s successful campaign to gain admission to the Univeristy of Mississippi, ‘Ole Miss’, and desegregate education in the state most resistant to integration of educational institutions, has become a crucial episode in civil rights history. Ole Miss transformed Mississippi politics and contributed to a cultural shift in the region, as well as invigorated local civil rights activists and those in neighboring states 1. The historic showdown between James Meredith and the

Coming of Age in Mississippi is an autobiography of the famous Anne Moody. Moody grew up in mist of a Civil Rights Movement as a poor African American woman in rural Mississippi. Her story comprises of her trials and tribulations from life in the South during the rise of the Civil Rights movement. Life during this time embraced segregation, which made life for African Americans rough. As an African American woman growing up during the Civil Rights movement, Moody has a unique story on themes like work and racial consciousness present during this time.

Early in the 1950s education in Mississippi was segregated. The Brown versus Board education decision caused complete panic in Mississippi due to the fact that it challenged everything Mississippi had ever known. Throughout the state opinions and reactions carried, but in Sunflower county the opinion of prominent whites were clear: Blacks would not be welcome in schools with their children. Two months after the Brown vs Board decision was announced the first Indianola County Citizens Council was held. At this first meeting men of power met to discuss how they were going to stop blacks from organizing in their county. “Herman Moore, president of the Indianola Bank, open the convocation; “This meeting should have been held 30 years ago.. when it was noticeable that the Negro was organizing.”(Moye65) this statement set the tone for how a whole

“Originally published in 2006, Mississippi Politics quickly became the definitive work on the state’s political history, campaigns, legislative battles, and litigation, as well as how Mississippi shaped and was shaped by national and regional trends.” While the second edition of the book still shows Mississippi’s gradual change from a blue state to a red state, it also examines the aftermath of Haley Barbour’s re-election campaign in 2007 along with the 2008 presidential elections. The one thing that I found most interesting about this book has nothing to do with its contents but everything to do with the two authors Jere Nash and Andy Taggart. Jere Nash is a well known Democrat who has held many political positions including chief of

In 1865, the United States government implemented what was known as Reconstruction. Its’ purpose was to remove slavery from the south, and give African-American’s the freedom in which they deserved. However, the freedom that they deserved was not the freedom that they received. With documents like The Black Codes restricting them from numerous privileges that white people had and the terroristic organization known as the Klu Klux Klan attacking and killing them, African-American’s were still being oppressed by their government as well as their fellow man. Slavery may have been abolished, but African-American’s were not yet given the freedom and rights that their white counterparts took for granted.

The city of Greenwood, Mississippi was founded in 1830 by John Williams also known as Williams Landing. In 1844 Greenwood was initially named after Choctaw Chief Greenwood Leflore. Greenwood, Mississippi is also known as the heart of the Mississippi Delta. The city of Greenwood is well known for being rich in vegetation and wildlife. Greenwood has also been known for having lots of cotton and is known for being the cotton market. Being known for cotton, Greenwood was named “The Cotton Capital of the World. Prior to the Civil War Greenwood shipped cotton throughout New Orleans, Louisiana, Memphis, Tennessee, and St. Louis, Missouri.

According to Merriam-Webster the word “segregation” was first known to be used in 1555. It is defined as the separation or isolation of a race, class, or ethnic group by enforcing or voluntary residence in a restricted area, by barriers to social intercourse, by separate educational facilities, or by other discriminatory means.

Black school children, who were able to attend integrated schools, experienced extreme racial discrimination from both their peers and their teachers, in an effort to force them to return to segregated schools. (Curry 83) By 1965, at the elementary and secondary levels, 1,160 of the 3,028 southern school districts contained both white and black students. (Sitkoff 45) Almost 10% of all black children were attending school with whites. (Sitkoff 45) The amount of desegregation that occurred at public universities was greater than that of elementary and secondary schools. (Sitkoff 45) Nevertheless, many conflicts and riots occurred on college campuses when blacks attempted to enroll. James Howard Meredith was the first African American to attend the University of Mississippi during the Civil Rights Movement. James Meredith attempted to register in the fall of 1962. (Curry 74) Because of several violent threats, Meredith was accompanied by federal marshals. State officials tried to block his entrance to the building. Protest groups formed, and riots broke out, in which two people were killed. (Curry 74) After much controversy, James Meredith succeeded in registering at the University of Mississippi, but federal marshals stayed to protect him until his graduation in 1963. (Curry 74) James Meredith was an instrumental black individual who was brave enough to fight for his rights