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OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI, AND OLE MISS Oxford is a small and quaint Mississippi city. It is the location of the University of Mississippi, affectionately known as Ole Miss. This Civil War memorial, topped by a statue of a Confederate soldier, stands in front of the picturesque county Court House in Oxford. |
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In September of 1962, the University of Mississippi was racially segregated. A young black Mississippian, James Meredith, received a court order from a U.S. judge ordering that Meredith be admitted to Ole Miss. Photo: Confederate soldier atop Oxford's Civil War memorial. |
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This is the Lyceum, a building which
symbolized the academic and social traditions at Ole Miss.
When word spread that a black student was going to be admitted to the University of Mississippi, an angry white mob gathered in the large landscaped park area in front of the Lyceum. |
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President John F. Kennedy dispatched a
large group of U.S. marshals to guarantee James Meredith's registration
at Ole Miss.
The marshals took up a defensive position on the front steps and between the historic front-porch columns of the Lyceum. |