Civil Rights Movement figure James Meredith is continuing his life’s mission

At 85 years old, activist and writer James Meredith is still on a mission.

Martin Luther King credited Meredith when he said, “One day the South will recognize its real heroes. They will be the James Merediths, with the noble sense of purpose that enables them to face jeering and hostile mobs, and with the agonizing loneliness that characterizes the life of the pioneer.â€

When Meredith decided to transfer from Jackson State University to the University of Mississippi and embarked on the March Against Fear, a civil rights demonstration that took place in the Mississippi Delta, he knew he wanted to do what had not been done. Meredith said there are three missions he has been sent to accomplish with the help of others. Meredith credits most of his accomplishments to his nine years in the Air Force.

“First what they trained me to be was a clerk typist, and by typing the letters, I learned how to write,†Meredith said. “Everybody thought it was the lowest thing you can be, but to me, it was the most important. I would have never written 27 books.â€

Meredith’s childhood differed from the reality of racial segregation he witnessed in his adolescence, which led to his life focus on leveling the field for all those who shared this discrimination. After more than 50 years since his walk, he has received numerous honors and historical markers.  

First mission: Destroy the system of white supremacy 

After the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, the the federal government initiated a battle against segregation throughout the public school systems. In the early months of 1961, Meredith applied for admission to the University of Mississippi. Though the federal government had ruled segregation in public institutions unconstitutional almost a decade before, many states enforced their own rules.

Mississippi historically was known for its tradition of embracing racial injustice that surrounded not only the country but also specifically the Mississippi Delta area. At the point of applying for admission, Ole Miss had never admitted a person of color. The public collegiate system of Mississippi had previously denied Clyde Kennard, another person of color.

After numerous denials of admission, Meredith was determined more than ever to break his home state’s rules of segregation. Meredith reached out to NAACP field secretary Medgar Evans, who had sought admission to the university’s law school. Meredith eventually got accepted to the school after a court decided he could. Despite the court’s ruling, then-Gov. Ross Barnett differed from the court rulings and embraced his own ideas of keeping Ole Miss segregated.

The case eventually received attention from U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. In fall 1962, Kennedy administrated hundreds of troops to escort Meredith to desegregate the institution. The desegregation of Ole Miss resulted in the what is known as the Ole Miss riot of 1962.

The riots resulted in two deaths, one being journalist Paul Guihard, and more than 300 injuries. Meredith’s personal dedication would lead to the enrollment of the second student of color, Cleve McDowell, and the start of a long history of black alumni at Ole Miss and other institutions throughout the Mississippi public university system. 

Second mission: Destroy the fear factor that kept blacks in their place 

Disgusted with the treatment of blacks and the somewhat-acceptance of being a second-class citizen, Meredith’s intent was to end that idea of what he calls ‘fear.’ Incidents like the beating of activist Fannie Lou Hamer at Winona and other injustices of blacks ignited him to set out on what he calls a “walk against fear.†In June 1966, Meredith set out to walk from Memphis to Jackson, Mississippi. By the second day, he was shot and went to the hospital.

After being hospitalized, many civil rights leaders and organizations came to his bedside. With the help of the organizations and leaders, his walk against fear would turn into the famous March Against Fear. Although he did not participate in the March Against Fear, he would allow for others to march in his honor.

“I told Dr. King and them if they wanted to continue, if they wanted to call my walk a march, that was fine,†Meredith said. “But I wasn’t going to participate in it. And I didn’t participate in it, but I wasn’t against what they did.â€

The march would lead to over 1,000 people being registered to vote. Once he recovered, Meredith would walk from Memphis to Jackson the following year during his summer vacation. Meredith’s reason for continuing his walk the next year alone was based on what his father would tell.

“My dad always told me anything you start, you’ve got to finish,†Meredith said. “If you don’t finish, you can’t do anything else successfully.â€Â 

Third mission: Get blacks to raise the moral character of all Christians 

Today, Meredith lives in Mississippi and continues to battle between his mission.

“God has tried to make me do his will for 85 plus years,†Meredith said. “I keep promising him I’m going to doing next year, next month, next week, tomorrow, but I haven’t done it yet.â€

His 2012 book “A Mission from God: A Memoir and Challenge for America†is one that outlines his focal points of his mission. It highlights his ancestor J.A.P. Campbell, a politician from Mississippi who formed the Mississippi codes of white supremacy and discusses his relationship with his father, who bestowed him with the responsibility to save the black race.

Meredith, a longtime education advocate, continues his mission by speaking to the youth about his life and what they can do to eliminate people’s prejudice beliefs. Despite his heroism, he said he still feels incomplete.

“However much I embrace it (heroism), I’m just a hypocrite, just like the rest of us,†Meredith said. “I went to an elementary school, a middle school and a high school… I told the students they need to learn every book in the Bible, and guess who didn’t know them; Ol’ James Meredith.

Despite his feelings about his mission, Meredith continues to inspire people of all ages and ethnicity with his resilience. Meredith is still working on his life’s mission.