Richard E. Holmes

Last updated

Richard E. Holmes (born February 17, 1944) is an American medical doctor who specialized in emergency department medicine. As a third-year college student, in 1965 he enrolled in the previously segregated Mississippi State University. He was one of five black Mississippians who pioneered the effort to desegregate the major state universities of Mississippi as part of the Civil Rights Movement. Following passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, his enrollment was the most peaceful of these efforts to that point. [1]

Contents

Holmes completed his college degree and graduated from MSU. After service in the United States Army, he also earned a master's degree in related fields, and a medical degree, the latter at Michigan State University. Holmes practiced emergency department medicine in hospitals in Birmingham, Alabama. In 2003 he returned to MSU to become a staff physician at the university's health center. He has received considerable recognition related to the 40th anniversary of his landmark enrollment and graduation from the university.

Early life and education

Holmes was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Horace and Minnie Holmes on February 17, 1944. He had three older brothers. When Richard was 18 months old, he and his brothers were taken to Mississippi by their mother when the parents separated. They settled in Starkville, Mississippi, with Eliza Hunter, a family friend Holmes would consider his "grandmother." [1] [2] Mrs. Hunter promoted education, hard work, honesty, and religion for the boys, teaching them that "being poor and black was no reason for failure." [1] [2]

Before Mrs. Hunter died in 1956 at the age of 86, she arranged for Holmes (then age 12) to live with Dr. Douglas Conner and his wife. He was a local Starkville physician, African-American community leader and civil rights activist. Conner became Holmes' godfather and life mentor, encouraging the youth to stay in school and study hard. [1] [2]

When Holmes graduated in 1963 from Starkville's black-only Henderson High School, [1] Dr. Conner sent him to Wiley College. Holmes took pre-med courses during the two years he studied there. [1] Wiley is a private, historically black college in Marshall, Texas; many of its students and faculty were active in the civil rights movement in Texas.

James Farmer James L Farmer Jr.jpg
James Farmer

Civil rights leaders James L. Farmer, Sr. and his son James Farmer (who was director of CORE when Holmes was at Wiley) both had connections to Wiley. Holmes was influenced by mentors who exemplified the philosophy of persistent but conservative, gradual expansion of civil rights, along with the need for racial reconciliation. [1] [2]

Civil rights activism and integration

Holmes may have questioned why he was studying at Wiley in Texas when MSU was located in his hometown. He likely had some concern for his safety considering the violence that had greeted Clyde Kennard (imprisoned on false grounds and dying) and James Meredith (placed in danger of his life during riots) when they attempted to integrate Mississippi universities.

James Meredith walking to class at the University of Mississippi, accompanied by U.S. Marshals. James Meredith OleMiss.jpg
James Meredith walking to class at the University of Mississippi, accompanied by U.S. Marshals.

In 1960 Clyde Kennard had been imprisoned on false charges by the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission and the administration of president William David McCain when trying to integrate the University of Southern Mississippi. White segregationists erupted into riots on the campus of the University of Mississippi in 1963 when a federal court ordered that James Meredith be admitted. Governor Ross Barnett had gained political points in the state for his refusal to concede, and President John F. Kennedy authorized National Guard troops to quell the rioting and protect Meredith. [2]

It is not documented as to how Holmes became the first black student to enroll at Mississippi State. His decision likely had several origins: himself, perhaps his mentor Dr. Conner, the local NAACP, President Dr. Dean W. Colvard and members of the university administration, and friends and mentors at Wiley. The NAACP had sponsored such efforts before; two months later they supported the enrollments of Raylawni Branch and Gwendolyn Elaine Armstrong at the University of Southern Mississippi. [2]

By 1965, both liberals and segregationists in the Mississippi higher education community began to work toward integration. The Colvard administration was moderate for its time and place. In 1963, Dr. Colvard had been courageous enough to send his regional champion basketball team to the integrated NCAA championships, rejecting the desire by the white state political establishment to keep them out of the games because of racial issue. In 1965, Colvard, his staff, and the faculty were seeking a path to peaceful integration. [2] [3]

Holmes enrolled for summer semester in July, when the fewest people would be on campus. He told the admissions office that he had come only for the one summer semester and would return to Wiley in the fall. He was always quiet and courteous, working to prevent any potential objections. [1] He still says, "I didn't set out to be an integrationist." [2] [3] [4]

Holmes later said of the first day: "There were no catcalls, no racial slurs,… It was quiet and serene. Nothing happened; there was just curiosity and disbelief." [5] He learned that the white students would refuse to sit at the same table with him in the library and student cafeteria, so suffered from isolation. [5] He encountered occasional heckling, but said that it did not seem to be personal. "Some befriended me and treated me with dignity and respect. Many just ignored me." [2]

After a successful summer semester and few problems, Holmes was personally encouraged by the Colvard administration to return for the fall semester, which he did. Also, Dr. Conner [2] and other black members of the university and Starkville community asked Holmes to stay, saying his presence was critical to a potential black student considering enrollment. Dr. Dean W. Colvard and the faculty were supportive. [4] The student body, overall, treated Holmes well. [2] [3] [5]

The university arranged for Holmes to have a twin-bed room in the new and (comparatively) luxurious Evans Hall residence facility, normally reserved for graduate students. His greatest struggle was with the isolation enforced by white students. [1] [6] Most of his friends from Starkville were attending college somewhere else. Students at MSU were reluctant to have an open friendship with him because of the lingering pressure of Mississippi "closed society" norms. [4] He missed the extracurricular activities which he had been involved in at Wiley. There he had been active in Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity and the football program. He sometimes wished he could have continued that. [1] [2]

Many students were likely unaware of the landmark occasion. In the fall, a Mexican-American transfer student from Tucson, Arizona, arrived at the campus Baptist Student Union for a Thanksgiving service. She said to the minister that she had seen another Mexican on campus whom she might invite to the BSU and described Holmes. "Oh no!" he [the minister] replied, "that's the Negro student who's integrating us. But, I think he's Methodist." [2]

For the next two years, Holmes worked diligently toward a bachelor's degree in liberal arts. Needing an income, Holmes left full-time student status in 1967 to teach school nearby in Alabama. Continuing on part-time status with night and correspondence courses, he graduated with a B.A. in 1969.

Morrill Hall is the oldest structure and an icon at Michigan State University, where Holmes received his M.D. MSU Morrill Hall.jpg
Morrill Hall is the oldest structure and an icon at Michigan State University, where Holmes received his M.D.

Holmes enlisted in the US Army and served two years. Afterward, he completed a pre-med master's in microbiology and nutrition in 1973. He went North to medical school at Michigan State University, completing his M.D. in 1977. After that, he took several internships in Alabama and set up his residency in Ohio. [1] [2]

Personal life

He and wife Judie Granderson, a former school teacher from nearby Columbus, Mississippi, have a daughter, Rikeda, and son, Richard Holmes, Jr. [1]

Career

Holmes specialized in emergency medicine, settling in Birmingham, Alabama. There he served as an emergency department doctor for 23 years in hospitals. During this period, he also maintained loyalty and close interest in his alma mater of MSU. [1] [2]

Later years

Holmes was recruited to Mississippi State in 2003 by Dr. Robert Collins to serve on the John C. Longest Student Health Center as a staff physician. [1] [6]

The gray-haired and always soft-spoken Holmes quickly became a favorite and valued member of the Mississippi State community. The university president, Charles Lee, noted that

The university gained from the courage and dignity (Dr. Holmes) demonstrated in 1965,… Today's students are benefiting and learning from the professionalism and compassion that are evident in his practice as a campus physician…. He has been, and remains, an inspiration, a role model and a mentor. [1]

Legacy and honors

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Meredith</span> American civil rights movement figure (born 1933)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Starkville, Mississippi</span> City in Mississippi, United States

Starkville is a city in, and the county seat of, Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, Starkville's population is 24,360, making it the 16th-most populated city in Mississippi. Starkville is the largest city in the Golden Triangle, which had a population of 175,474 in 2020, and the principal city of the Starkville-Columbus, MS CSA. Founded in 1831, the city was originally known as Boardtown for the local sawmilling operation there, but was renamed in 1837 to honor American Revolutionary War general John Stark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mississippi State University</span> Public university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, US

Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very High Research Activity" and has a total research and development budget of $239.4 million, the largest in Mississippi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wiley University</span> Private historically black college in Marshall, Texas

Wiley University is a private historically black college in Marshall, Texas. Founded in 1873 by the Methodist Episcopal Church's Bishop Isaac Wiley and certified in 1882 by the Freedman's Aid Society, it is one of the oldest predominantly black colleges west of the Mississippi River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oakwood University</span> Seventh-day Adventist historically black university in Huntsville, Alabama, US

Oakwood University is a private, historically black Seventh-day Adventist university in Huntsville, Alabama. It is the only HBCU owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vivian Malone Jones</span> American civil rights advocate (1942–2005)

Vivian Juanita Malone Jones was one of the first two black students to enroll at the University of Alabama in 1963, and in 1965 became the university's first black graduate. She was made famous when George Wallace, the Governor of Alabama, attempted to block her and James Hood from enrolling at the all-white university.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Babe McCarthy</span>

James Harrison "Babe" McCarthy, was an American professional and collegiate basketball coach. McCarthy was originally from Baldwyn, Mississippi. McCarthy may best be remembered for Mississippi State's appearance in the 1963 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament when his all-white team sneaked out of town in order to face Loyola University Chicago, which had four black starters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dean W. Colvard</span> President of Mississippi State University

Dean Wallace Colvard was a president of Mississippi State University, notable for his role in a 1963 controversy surrounding the participation of the university's basketball team in the NCAA tournament.

<i>The Daily Mississippian</i> Student newspaper of the University of Mississippi

The Daily Mississippian, commonly called The DM, is the student newspaper of the University of Mississippi. The first issue of The Mississippian was published in 1911. It is operated as an independent student-run newspaper, and is published in print one day a week and online daily. It publishes Thursdays during the fall and spring semesters, and occasionally during the June and July summer terms. It has a daily print circulation of 9,000 during fall and spring. It is also the only college newspaper in Mississippi to be a full member of the state press association, and it competes in the Mississippi Press Association's Better Newspaper Contest against professional daily newspapers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Starkville High School</span> Public school in Starkville, Mississippi, United States

Starkville High School (SHS) is a public secondary school in Starkville, Mississippi, United States. It is the only high school in the Starkville Oktibbeha Consolidated School District, serving grades 9–12. It offers more than 140 courses, including over 10 Advanced Placement courses. Its school colors are black and gold, and its mascot is the Yellowjacket, a predatory wasp.

Raylawni Branch is a black Mississippi pioneer of the Civil Rights Movement, a professional nursing educator and US Air Force Reserve officer. She is best known for her leading role in the integration of the University of Southern Mississippi (Hattiesburg) in 1965, which was peaceful as opposed to the violent riot triggered by white racism after the enrollment of James Meredith at the University of Mississippi (Oxford) in 1962.

Gwendolyn Elaine Armstrong was a black Mississippi pioneer in the Civil Rights Movement. In September, 1965, she and Raylawni Branch, both local natives, integrated the University of Southern Mississippi at Hattiesburg. They thus completed the process of breaking the segregation barriers at Mississippi's universities which had been begun by Clyde Kennard at (then) Mississippi Southern College (1956–61) and carried forward by James Meredith at the University of Mississippi and Richard Holmes at Mississippi State University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ole Miss riot of 1962</span> Civil unrest in Mississippi

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bully (mascot)</span>

Bully is the official mascot of the Mississippi State University Bulldogs in Starkville, Mississippi, and the name is given to both the costumed mascot and the live bulldog that appears at State games. The live mascot Bully is an American Kennel Club registered English Bulldog, and each dog is given the inherited title of "Bully". The name "Bully" is traditionally considered a title and not the official name of the specific dog that holds it.

Donald W. Zacharias was the 15th President of Mississippi State University from 1985 to 1997. Previously he served as the 6th president of Western Kentucky University from 1979 until 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">School integration in the United States</span> Racial desegregation process

In the United States, school integration is the process of ending race-based segregation within American public and private schools. Racial segregation in schools existed throughout most of American history and remains an issue in contemporary education. During the Civil Rights Movement school integration became a priority, but since then de facto segregation has again become prevalent.

This is a timeline of the civil rights movement in the United States, a nonviolent mid-20th century freedom movement to gain legal equality and the enforcement of constitutional rights for people of color. The goals of the movement included securing equal protection under the law, ending legally institutionalized racial discrimination, and gaining equal access to public facilities, education reform, fair housing, and the ability to vote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brent Funderburk</span> American painter and professor of arts (born 1952)

Thomas Brent Funderburk is a long known visual artist and W. L. Giles Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Art at Mississippi State University, where he has worked since 1982. He is an active artist, known for his large-format, exuberantly hued, often naturalistic watermedia paintings. His art has been displayed in many juried exhibitions, specialized art magazines and annual publications. Funderburk is also noted for his illustrated lecture performances, curation, and workshops. Funderburk acknowledges influences by watercolor painters such as Charles E. Burchfield, Walter Inglis Anderson and Edward Reep. In 2024, he was the recipient of the Mississippi Governor's Arts Award for Excellence in Visual Arts and Education.

Henderson High School was a public secondary school in Starkville, Mississippi. United States. It served as the high school for black students until the public schools were integrated in 1970. Grades k–8 were also located on the same property. After integration, the buildings served as a junior high school and later as an elementary school.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Game of Change</span> 1963 college basketball game

The Game of Change was a college basketball game played between the Loyola Ramblers and the Mississippi State Bulldogs on March 15, 1963, during the second round of the 1963 NCAA University Division basketball tournament, at Jenison Fieldhouse in East Lansing, Michigan. Taking place in the midst of the American civil rights movement, the game between the racially integrated Loyola team and the all-white Mississippi State team is remembered as a milestone in the desegregation of college basketball.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "Holmes became first black student 40 years ago (Mississippi State University)". Msstate.edu. Retrieved 2011-07-21.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "Holmes remembers being MSU's first black student – News – The Reflector". Mississippi State University: Media.www.reflector-online.com. Retrieved 2011-07-21.[ permanent dead link ]
  3. 1 2 3 Maroon and White: Mississippi State University, 1878–2003 by Michael B. Ballard, Univ. Press of Mississippi, 2008, pp. 152–56.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "MSU honors first black student today – News – The Reflector". Mississippi State University: Media.www.reflector-online.com. Retrieved 2011-07-21.[ permanent dead link ]
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-09-05. Retrieved 2009-06-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. 1 2 3 4 "MSU to commemorate Dr. Richard Holmes's admission (Mississippi State University)". Msstate.edu. Retrieved 2011-07-21.
  7. ↑ "Fall Reporter 03" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2011-07-21.
  8. ↑ "Press Release: Board Renews Contracts For Limbert And Newman, Meets With Student Leaders". Institute for Higher Learning, Mississippi. 2006-02-15. Retrieved 2011-07-21.
  9. ↑ House Resolution 42: Commemorating Dr. Richard E. Holmes, 2007, Mississippi State Legislature
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.