James Howard Meredith is an American civil rights activist,writer,political adviser,and United States Air Force veteran who became,in 1962,the first African-American student admitted to the racially segregated University of Mississippi after the intervention of the federal government. Inspired by President John F. Kennedy's inaugural address,Meredith 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. The admission of Meredith ignited the Ole Miss riot of 1962 where Meredith's life was threatened and 31,000 American servicemen were required to quell the violence –the largest ever invocation of the Insurrection Act of 1807.
The University of Mississippi is a public research university in Oxford,Mississippi,with a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and is the state's largest by enrollment.
Ross Robert Barnett was an American politician and segregationist who served as the 53rd governor of Mississippi from 1960 to 1964. He was a Southern Democrat who supported racial segregation.
University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) is the health sciences campus of the University of Mississippi and is located in Jackson,Mississippi,United States. UMMC,also referred to as the Medical Center,is the state's only academic medical center.
The chancellor of the University of Mississippi is the chief administrator of the University of Mississippi in Oxford,Mississippi. The position was previously referred to as "president" until chancellor Frederick Augustus Porter Barnard suggested the change in 1858.
Mississippi Valley State University is a public historically black university in Mississippi Valley State,Mississippi,adjacent to Itta Bena,Mississippi. MVSU is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
The Ole Miss Rebels are the 18 men's and women's intercollegiate athletic teams that are funded by and represent the University of Mississippi,located in Oxford. The first was the football team,which began play in 1893.
Jackson Academy is a private school in Jackson,Mississippi founded by Loyal M. Bearrs in 1959. Bearrs claimed he established the school to teach using an accelerated phonics program he developed,but the school remained completely racially segregated until 1986,even forgoing tax exemption in 1970 to avoid having to accept Black students.
Homer Ervin "Billy" Brewer was an American college football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Southeastern Louisiana University from 1974 to 1979,Louisiana Tech University from 1980 to 1982,and University of Mississippi from 1983 to 1993,compiling a career college football coaching record of 125–94–6. He was also the host of an Ole Miss Rebel football post-game call-in show.
Jeffrey Scott Vitter is a U.S. computer scientist and academic administrator. Born in 1955 in New Orleans,Vitter has served in several senior higher education administration posts. He is a former chancellor of the University of Mississippi. He assumed the chancellor position on January 1,2016. His formal investiture to the chancellorship took place on November 10,2016,at the University of Mississippi's Oxford Campus.
Jackson Preparatory School is a private school in Flowood,Mississippi,a suburb of Jackson,with a controversial history as a segregation academy. The school is coeducational and serves preschool through grade 12.
Madison-Ridgeland Academy is a private,co-educational school in Madison,Mississippi,for students from K-3 through 12th grade. There are 4 divisions;the Kindergarten (K3-K5),the Elementary,the Middle School,and the High School (9th–12th).
The Midsouth Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) is a consortium of schools in Mississippi,Tennessee,Louisiana and Arkansas. It is responsible for accreditation of its member private schools as well as governing athletic competition for its member schools. It was founded in 1968 by a group of segregation academies.
Daniel Wayne Jones served as the 16th chancellor of the University of Mississippi. He was appointed June 15,2009,after Robert Khayat announced his retirement from the post on January 6,2009.
The Ole Miss riot of 1962,also known as the Battle of Oxford,was a violent disturbance that occurred at the University of Mississippi—commonly called Ole Miss—in Oxford,Mississippi,as segregationist rioters sought to prevent the enrollment of African American applicant James Meredith. President John F. Kennedy eventually quelled the riot by mobilizing more than 30,000 troops,the most for a single disturbance in United States history.
John Davis Williams was an American university administrator who served as the Chancellor of the University of Mississippi and President of Marshall College. He served as chancellor from 1946 to 1968.
Danny Hugh Freeze Jr. is an American football coach who is the head coach at Auburn University. A successful high school football coach at Briarcrest Christian School in Memphis,Tennessee,Freeze coached Michael Oher and Greg Hardy. He subsequently was the head football coach at Lambuth University from 2008 to 2009,Arkansas State University in 2011,the University of Mississippi from 2012 to 2016,and Liberty University from 2018 to 2022.
Canton Academy is a private school in Canton,Mississippi,which was established in 1970 to preserve racial segregation in schools.
Peggie Gillom-Granderson is a chaplain at the University of Mississippi since 2009. Before starting her religious position,Gillom played on the Ole Miss Rebels women's basketball team between 1976 and 1980. During her time at Ole Miss,Gillom set career records for Mississippi with 2,486 points and 1,271 rebounds. After university,Gillom briefly played in the Women's Professional Basketball League for a year with the Dallas Diamonds. As an assistant coach,Gillom worked with Ole Miss from 1981 to 1997 before continuing her assistant coaching tenure in the Women's National Basketball Association. With the Houston Comets,Gillom and her team won the 1997 WNBA Championship.
The history of the University of Mississippi,the first public institution of higher education in Mississippi,began in 1848,when the Mississippi Legislature chartered the university. Construction of the university was completed in the rural town of Oxford in 1848.
