50 Years of Integration Rolling to a Close

Sydney Hembree

Jour 271

“Ole Miss After the Crisis”

448 words

Hiram Eastland, a close friend of the Meredith family, attends the last lecture in the integration series as a spokesperson for James.

            Oxford, Miss. – Chancellor Dan Jones and other influential speakers discuss their thoughts on how far the University of Mississippi has come since James Meredith walked through its halls in 1962.

This meeting is the last in a series of lectures dedicated to the 50^th anniversary of integration at Ole Miss to be held at the Overby Center. Chancellor Jones started the event off by remarking that the university has had a lot of time to think about the difficulties of its past.

“When controversy is used, there is criticism. Although this event had a halo effect at one point, the campus and its people have moved on,” he said.

David Sansing, author of “The University of Mississippi” and a faculty member in the Department of History at the university, announced the three main speakers of the event, Dr. Gerald Walton, Dr. Donald Cole, and Valeria Ross.

Walton, a former graduate and chancellor at UM, endangered his academic career when he signed a document claiming that the court marshals protecting James Meredith did not cause the riot in 1962.

“In the 1980s, I was asked by the Daily Mississippian to talk about the changes since 1962,” he said. “I looked out the window and said, ‘I think what I’m seeing now represents the change – black, Chinese, white…’”

Dr. Donald Cole noted that, during his brief time attending Ole Miss as an undergrad student, America was in an uproar from the Vietnam War.

“It wasn’t long until we were protesting on campus,” he said. “We wanted to dissociate from the rebel flag and include colored people into the administration and into the athletic teams.”

Soon after, Cole was expelled from the university, but his protests, along with others, shaped the campus. Within a year, the basketball and football teams became integrated.

            Associate Dean for Student Affairs, Valerie Ross has also risked her career for the good of the students. As an employee of 22 years at Ole Miss, Ross has seen her share of history on this campus and believes it’s moving in the right direction, but that it’s not there yet.

            “I confess I don’t hear enough African American students say the Alma Mater of UM, that you graduate, but never really leave Ole Miss,” she said.

            Hiram Eastland, a close friend of the Meredith family and member of the audience, closed the lecture with a humble gratification from James Meredith to the university for its dedication.

            “Ralph Waldo Emerson’s quote about going where there is no path and leaving a trail can be applied to James’ time at Ole Miss,” he said. “His trail has truly inspired many.”