September 30, 1962
Hundreds of Ku Klux Klan members, white students and others, tried to keep a black student, James Meredith, 29, from attending classes at the University of Mississippi in Oxford. They were supported by the governor, Ross Barnett, who had explicitly resisted the order of the Federal Circuit Court. In spite of the efforts to block his court-ordered registration, a deal to allow Meredith to register had been made between U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy and Governor Barnett. Meredith was secretly escorted onto campus; deputy U.S. marshals, border patrolmen and federal prison guards were stationed on and around the campus to protect him. Those standing guard were assaulted throughout the night with guns, bricks, Molotov cocktails, and bottles. Tear gas was used to try and control the crowd. Federal troops arrived, bringing the total to 12,000, and the mob finally retreated. In the end, two were dead, 160 U.S. Marshalls were injured, 200 others injured, and 300 arrested.
