James Meredith Quotes

James Howard Meredith was born in Kosciusko, Mississippi, USA. He is an American civil rights activist. In 1962, he became the first African-American student admitted to the segregated University of Mississippi, after the intervention of the federal government, an event that was a flashpoint in the Civil Rights Movement. Inspired by President John F. Kennedy's inaugural address, he decided to exercise his constitutional rights and apply to the University of Mississippi. His goal was to put pressure on the Kennedy administration to enforce civil rights for African Americans. He earned a BA degree from the University of Mississippi in 1963. He earned a law degree from Columbia Law School in 1968. He also studied at the University of Ibadan and Jackson State University. He continued his education, focusing on political science, at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria. He has written several books include: Three years in Mississippi(memoir), Will Wadsworth's Train to Nowhere, and A Mission from God(memoir).