James Meredith in Civil Rights Movement: "Black Power" Era
James Meredith (1933–) was a student at the all-Black Jackson State College who became the first Black student to enroll at the all-white University of Mississippi.
In September 1962, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) pressured President Kennedy into federalizing Mississippi troops to enforce a federal court ruling to allow Meredith to enroll at the all-white University of Mississippi. White students at the University rioted in protest, leaving two people dead.