On June 25, 1933, James was born in Kosciusko, Mississippi. James grew up on a farm with nine siblings. His first experience with racism was when he and his brother were on a train from Chicago. Meredith was ordered to give up his seat and go to the black section, where he would have to stand. He said he would dedicate his life to helping African Americans gain the same opportunities as whites. After high school, Meredith spent nine years in the United States Air Force before enrolling at Jackson State College, an all-black school in Mississippi. He then applied to the white school the University of Mississippi, where he was initially accepted. “James Meredith.” History learning site, www.historylearningsite.co.uk/the-civil-rights-movement-in-america-1945-to-1968/james-meredith/. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay James Meredith made his name in civil rights history by being the first African American to attend the University of Mississippi. Meredith filed a complaint in court that he was rejected by the university simply because he was black. Threats were made against Meredith, and Robert Kennedy, the attorney general, sent federal marshals to protect Meredith. However, his place in the march was taken by figures of the civil rights movement such as Martin Luther King and Stokely Carmichael who decided to end the march on Meredith's behalf. Subsequently, James Meredith continued his studies at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria and Columbia University. "James Meredith Shot". History.com, A&E Television Networks, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/james-meredith-shot.James H. Meredith, who in 1962 became the first African American to attend the University of Mississippi, is killed by a sniper shortly after starting a lone civil rights march through the South. Known as the March Against Fear, Meredith had walked from Memphis, Tennessee, to Jackson, Mississippi, in an effort to encourage voter registration by African Americans in the South. On June 6, just a day after the march began, he was sent to hospital by a sniper's bullet. Other civil rights leaders, including Martin Luther King, Jr. and Stokely Carmichael, arrived to continue the march in his name. James Meredith, an African American, attempted to enroll at the all-white University of Mississippi in 1962. The case was eventually resolved on appeal by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in Meredith's favor in September 1962. State officials, including Governor Ross Barnett, attempted to challenge the Supreme Court's decision, causing a constitutional crisis between the state of Mississippi and the federal government. When Meredith arrived at the school's Oxford, Mississippi, campus under the protection of federal forces, including U.S. marshals, a crowd of more than 2,000 students and others formed to block his path. Two people were killed and many others injured in the ensuing chaos, forcing Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy to send in federal marshals and later federalized National Guardsmen, in what essentially amounted to a military occupation of approximately 31,000 federal troops. Despite fierce resistance, Meredith registered as the first African American student at Ole Miss on October 1, 1962. For his part, James Meredith continued his activism as a student at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria and later at Columbia University. The editors of the Encyclopædia Britannica. “James Meredith.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 12,.