The Man Who Kept Walking to Class

On October 1, 1962, James Meredith walked into the registrar's office at the University of Mississippi and enrolled as its first Black student. The night before, a riot had torn through the campus in Oxford, leaving two dead, hundreds injured, and the air still sharp with tear gas. President Kennedy had deployed thousands of federal troops to enforce a Supreme Court order guaranteeing Meredith's right to attend.

But the riot was only one night. What followed was an entire academic year.

Every morning, Meredith rose, gathered his books, and walked to class. Students hurled insults. Someone threw a dead raccoon on his car. His dormitory neighbors banged on the walls through the night. Federal marshals shadowed him everywhere he went. Yet day after day, he sat in his seat, took his notes, and refused to quit.

On August 18, 1963, James Meredith graduated with a degree in political science.