March Against Fear

June 26, 1966: Yesterday, I rejoined the March Against Fear that I started on June 5, 1966. Today was the last day of the march. The picture above shows the March Against Fear in action. The purpose of it was to galvanize African Americans to not be afraid to vote. Although voting has been legal for blacks since August 10, 1965, when Congress passed it, African-Americans were still scared of riots breaking out when they go to vote. I decided to start the march to encourage blacks to vote just like other blacks started a March in Montgomery in 1965 starting in Selma, Alabama. However, the March in Montgomery was to allow blacks to vote. I am encouraging blacks to vote now that they have the right. The March Against Fear was to begin in Memphis, Tennessee and end in Jackson, Mississippi. Soon after the march began, I was shot by a sniper and had to go to the hospital. After they heard the news that I had been attacked, other civil rights leaders including Martin Luther King Jr., Stokely Carmichael, and Floyd McKissick, continued the march to honor me. Thankfully, I am healthy and have regained my strength. Now that the march has ended, I am thankful that it hasn't ended in a bloody manner like the March in Montgomery known as 'Bloody Sunday'. I was greatly inspired by Stokely Carmichael's speech on Black Power that he gave in Greenwood, Mississippi during the March Against Fear. His speech encouraged blacks to lead organizations and create a community and try to reunite and 'recognize their heritage'. In addition for me rejoining the march yesterday, it was also my birthday! I turned thirty-three years old! Throughout these years, I have also written a book about my life that was published in January of 1966. It told the story of what I lived through and what it was like to be an only black student in the Ole Miss. Life is now slowly getting easier for blacks after Congress has passes laws such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which did not allow discrimination against any group. I think protests, marches, and speeches like Martin Luther King's speech "I Have a Dream,"of 1963, open up the eyes of many people and cause such laws to be passed. One day, I hope to see that there will never be segregation anywhere in this world. 

GRADUATION!

August 18, 1963: Today, I have graduated from the University of Mississippi with a degree in political science! I am the first black man to graduate from this university. 

University of Mississippi

October 1, 1962: Finally! I got accepted into the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi. I will be the first African-American to enter the University. I had tried to apply the year before, but they denied me twice. On September 20, I was barred from entering the school. There were many riots supported by Governor Ross Barnett that was a firm supporter of segregation. However, President Kennedy was on my side, and I had to be escorted by two federal marshals to class accompanied by 5,000 federal troops. The sad thing is, two people had died during the riots. One included a French journalist by the name Paul Guihard. The rioters were being very violent and using lead pipes, petrol bombs, and rocks. The U.S Marshals and the military police were using tear gas against them. I tried to stay calm throughout the whole nightmare although it was very difficult. I stayed on campus under guard while the fighting was occurring. The harsh words coming from students and whites around me do not seem to hurt me personally. I believe that the mobs were just protesting a change and were acting like their leader, Governor Ross Barnett. Although I had the opportunity to enter the Ole Miss, it was not a happy occasion. I guess I could relate to the 'Little Rock Nine' in Arkansas when the nine black students attempted to integrate an all-white Central High School in 1957. The picture above shows me being escorted by U.S Marshals.