On this day, 56 years ago, James Meredith was shot during second day of “Walk Against Fear” campaign

James Meredith, the first African American to be enrolled at the University of Mississippi, was shot by a sniper on this day, 56 years ago after beginning his one-man, 220-mile “Walk Against Fear” from Memphis, Tennessee, to Jackson, Mississippi.

James Meredith was the first African American to be enrolled at the University of Mississippi in 1962. He compelled the President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, to enforce civil rights for African Americans. Kennedy sent federal troops and nationalized the Mississippi National Guard, ordering them on campus to keep the peace after two people died in riots the day before Meredith registered.

Meredith’s actions were a key step forward in the fight for civil rights.

Meredith saw integrating Ole Miss as a mission: to destroy the system of white supremacy that has disenfranchised Black people in the South and across America.

Meredith’s second mission was his March Against Fear in 1966 from Memphis, Tennessee, to Jackson. His solitary march was to help black voters register to vote and help end the fear of racism surrounding voting in Mississippi.

Despite state police protection, Meredith was shot on the second day of the march. Civil Rights leaders from around the country gathered to finish the march for Meredith. Recovering from his wounds, he was able to rejoin the march before it reached Jackson. 15,000 people marched into Jackson with the wounded James Meredith at the front. It was the largest march in the state’s history.

4000 people registered to vote during the march.