James Meredith

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James Meredith

American civil rights activist and author

Also known as: James H. Meredith, James Howard Meredith

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Dec 23, 2024 • Article History

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Born:: June 25, 1933, Kosciusko, Mississippi, U.S. (age 91)

Role In:: American civil rights movement

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Civil rights icon James Meredith is honored in his Mississippi hometown • Dec. 23, 2024, 11:51 AM ET (AP)

James Meredith (born June 25, 1933, Kosciusko, Mississippi, U.S.) is an American civil rights activist who gained national renown at a key juncture in the civil rights movement in 1962, when he became the first African American student at the University of Mississippi. State officials, initially refusing a U.S. Supreme Court order to integrate the school, blocked Meredith’s entrance, but, following large campus riots that left two people dead, Meredith was admitted to the university under the protection of federal marshals. Meredith served in the U.S. Air Force (1951–60) before attending an all-Black school, Jackson State College (1960–62). His repeated ...(100 of 374 words)

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