James Meredith: Breaking the Barrier

James Meredith: Breaking the Barrier is an illustrated collection of essays commemorating the 60th anniversary of James Meredith’s historic 1962 enrollment at the University of Mississippi. Ten former students, journalists, historians and eye-witnesses tell the story of James Meredith’s turbulent but successful path to become the state’s first African American to graduate from the University of Mississippi.

In Breaking the Barrier James Meredith describes his three-year campaign to break the color barrier at the University of Mississippi and his successful graduation in 1963. Former Washington Post reporter Dorothy Gilliam describes the legal challenges Meredith overcame. Historian William Doyle reveals how Meredith planned and carried out a military-style campaign to secure admission to the university. Former students Sidna Brower Mitchell and Curtis Wilkie, eye-witnesses at the 1962 campus riot, recount the violence they saw that night. Former MP lieutenant Henry Gallagher commanded the military security detail which escorted James Meredith to his classes. Journalism professor Marquita Smith records Mississippi African Americans’ recollections of Meredith’s impact. Editor Kathleen Wickham tells the tragic story of French reporter Paul Guihard, the only reporter to be killed during the Civil Rights era. Former governor William Winter describes how Mississippi joined the American mainstream and recognized the rights of all its citizens. Alumnus Jesse Holland credits Meredith for paving the way for generations of African Americans students.