50th Anniversary Events
The following events took place in 2011-12 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of integration at the University of Mississippi:
Sept. 30, 2011
Silver Pond Dedication
Nearly 50 years after he left the University of Mississippi in a storm of controversy, the late James W. Silver, a history professor, ardent opponent of segregation and author of Mississippi: The Closed Society, was honored by the university with the dedication of a pond in his name, located near the Oxford campus’ residential colleges.
A panel of alumni also spoke about Silver at the Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics. Alumni included former Mississippi Gov. William Winter; Elizabeth Nichols Silver, 1953-54 editor of The Mississippian and retired journalist; Daniel P. Jordan, 1960 UM graduate and president of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation at Monticello; and Edwin N. Williams, 1964-65 editor of The Daily Mississippian and editorial page editor of The Charlotte Observer, all former students of Silver.
Oct. 13, 2011
Lecture: “Meredith and Ole Miss: A Pivotal Moment in the Civil Rights Movement”
David Sansing, UM professor emeritus of history
J.D. Williams Library
Oct. 18, 2011
Lecture: “Revisiting an American Insurrection”
William Doyle, author of the book An American Insurrection: James Meredith and the Battle of Oxford
Oct. 26, 2011
Lecture: “Recognizing the Integration of the University of Mississippi”
Curtis Wilkie, Cook Chair and UM associate professor of journalism, lectured during the university’s annual Black & White Affair.
Nov. 10, 2011
Lecture: “The Bravado of the Black New South: Intersections of Race, Class and Politics in Post-Civil Rights Black Atlanta, Georgia”
Maurice Hobson, UM assistant professor of history and African-American studies
Nov. 16, 2011
Gilder-Jordan Lecture in Southern History: “American Oracle: The Civil War in the Civil Rights Era and Our Own Time”
Lecturer: David W. Blight, professor of American history at Yale University and director of the Gilder-Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance and Abolition
Feb. 2, 2012
Black History Month Kickoff
Noon
Speaker: Nic Lott, the first African-American to be elected Associated Student Body president at the University of Mississippi
Student Union Lobby
Feb. 2-5, 2012
The Dance Company’s Dance Concert: A Winter Collection
Original choreographed piece by Jennifer Mizenko, UM professor of theatre arts, titled “Hela,” based on the book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Feb. 10, 2012
Brown Bag Lecture: “From Just Can See in the Morning to Can’t See at Night: Civil Rights Activism and Resistance in the Life of Medgar Wiley Evers”
Noon
Michael V. Williams, assistant professor of history and African-American studies at Mississippi State University, spoke on the life and times of Medgar Evers in Mississippi.
J.D. Williams Library
Feb. 21, 2012
Black History Month Keynote Lecture
7 p.m.
Marian Wright Edelman, president and founder of the Children’s Defense Fund
Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts
Feb. 22, 2012
Exhibit: “Not Everyone (can carry the weight of the world)”
A sound installation by artists Les Christensen and John Salvest created as “a celebration of one man’s courage, determination and perseverance against incredible odds”
Gallery 130, Meek Hall
Feb. 23, 2012
Black History Month Concert “Celebrating 50 Years of Integration”
7:30 p.m.
Performances by Caline Waugh (soprano), Fred Dunlap (percussion), Guelel Kumba (voice and guitar), African Drum and Dance Ensemble (directed by George Dor), Steel Band (directed by Ricky Burkhead) and Jazz Ensemble (directed by Michael Worthy)
Nutt Auditorium
Feb. 24, 2012
Brown Bag Luncheon: “Civil Rights in Mississippi”
Noon
Faculty and community members shared memories of Mississippi during the Civil Rights Movement.
Faulkner Room, J.D. Williams Library
March 2, 2012
Day of Dialogue
UM alumni participated in dialogue sessions throughout the day, sharing their undergraduate experiences.
Overby Auditorium
Lecture by Myrlie Evers-Williams
4 p.m.
Evers-Williams, widow of civil rights activist Medgar Evers, opened the university’s “50 Years of Integration” events by delivering a keynote address.
Fulton Chapel
March 7, 2012
Southern Studies Brown Bag Lunch: “Selma to Montgomery: The Long March to Freedom”
Noon
Barbara H. Combs, UM assistant professor of sociology and Southern studies
Barnard Observatory
Sept. 5, 2012
Panel Discussion: “Images of Minority Women in the Media, Then and Now”
11 a.m.
Panelists: Kirk Johnson, Deirdre Cooper Owens, Imani Cheers
Moderator: Mark Dolan
Cosponsored by the Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies
Overby Center
Sept. 19, 2012
Brown Bag Lecture: “Margaret Walker Alexander and Civil Rights”
Noon
Lecturer: Robby Luckett of the Margaret Walker Alexander Center, Jackson State University
Barnard Observatory
Movie Screening: “Sing Your Song”
6:30 p.m.
A documentary about the life of Harry Belafonte
Barnard Observatory, Room 105
Sept. 24, 2012
Lecture: “What Did We Learn? The Lessons of 1962”
6 p.m.
Charles Eagles, author of The Price of Defiance: James Meredith and the Integration of Ole Miss, spoke on his history of the crisis.
Overby Center Auditorium
Sept. 25, 2012
Documentary: “Legacy: 50 Years of Integration at the University of Mississippi”
7 p.m.
Narrators: Andrew Harper and Matthew Graves
Overby Center Auditorium
Lecture: “Transformation and Reformation”
7 p.m.
Clifton Taulbert discussed his Ice House Entrepreneurship program as part of the Legal Studies Lecture Series.
Farley Hall, Room 202
Sept. 26, 2012
Brown Bag Lecture: “Legacies from the Battle of Ole Miss: The James Meredith Incident and the 1965 Southern Literary Festival”
Noon
Lecturer: Robert W. Hamblin, professor of English, Southeast Missouri State University
Barnard Observatory
Panel Discussion
3-4 p.m.
Panel discussion with people who were on campus Sept. 30–Oct. 1, 1962
All people who were on campus during the events of fall 1962 were invited to participate.
Barnard Observatory
Sept. 27, 2012
Speaker: U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder
7 p.m.
Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts
Sept. 28, 2012
Mississippi Freedom Trail Marker Ceremony
Master of ceremonies: Andy Mullins
Sept. 30, 2012
Statewide Day of Remembrance: “A Walk of Reconciliation and Redemption”
6:30 p.m.
Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts
Prayer Service on the Lyceum Steps at Ole Miss led by local religious community
7 p.m.
Documentary: “REBELS: James Meredith & the Integration of Ole Miss”
8 p.m.
Narrators: Andrew Harper and Matthew Graves
Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts
Oct. 1, 2012
“The U.S. Marshals and Oxford — A 50th Anniversary Panel”
9:30 a.m.
Panelists: John Meredith, son of James Meredith; Don Forsht, Hershel Garner, Denzil N. Bud Staple, Curt Bowden and Robert Moore, retired deputy U.S. marshals
Master of ceremonies: David Turk, U.S. Marshals Service historian
Student Union Ballroom
Black Student Union Tribute to James Meredith
11 a.m.
Student Union Lobby
Lecture: “A Lawyer’s Impact: Mississippi Burning”
1:30 p.m.
Reuben V. Anderson, senior partner, Phelps Dunbar LLP
Robert C. Khayat Law Center, Room 1078
Lecture: “Integration at Ole Miss — from an Army Perspective”
3 p.m.
Speaker: Henry Gallagher, author of James Meredith and the Ole Miss Riot
Overby Center
“Meredith and Me: The Walk”
5:30 p.m.
50 Years of Integration at the University of Mississippi
Civil Rights Monument
Keynote Lecture: “50 Years of Integration, Opening the Closed Society”
6 p.m.
Keynote speaker: Harry Belafonte
Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts
Reception
7:15 p.m.
Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts Lower Lobby
Oct. 2, 2012
Lecture: “Finding JFK while Researching James Meredith at Ole Miss — A Collector’s Paradise”
Noon
A discussion with Judge Tyrone K. Yates
Faulkner Room, Special Collections, J.D. Williams Library
Oct. 3, 2012
Brown Bag Lecture: “Robert F. Kennedy in the Mississippi Delta”
Noon
Lecturer: Ellen Meacham, Meek School of Journalism and New Media
Barnard Observatory
Concert: Caroline Herring
6 p.m.
Herring sang several songs about the Civil Rights Movement, including a new song about the University of Mississippi, in her concert.
Gertrude Ford Center Studio Theater
Oct. 4, 2012
Lecture: “Ole Miss after Meredith: Progress since 1962”
11 a.m.
Speakers: David Sansing, Don Cole, Valeria Ross and Gerald Walton
Overby Center Auditorium
Oct. 10, 2012
Gilder Jordan Lecture in Southern History: “So the Whole World Can See: Documentary Photography and Film in the Civil Rights Era”
7:30 p.m.
Lecturer: Grace Elizabeth Hale, University of Virginia
Nutt Auditorium
Oct. 15, 2012
Lecture: “Cuffed on a Bus at Ole Miss in 1962: This Is Not the Way I Was Raised”
Noon
Joel E. Anderson, chancellor of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Barnard Observatory, Room 105
Panel Discussion: “Thank God for Mississippi!: Perspectives on the Civil Rights Movement in Arkansas”
3 p.m.
A panel discussion, led by professors John Kirk and Barclay Key of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Barnard Observatory
Exhibits
Sept. 25-Oct. 6, 2012
“A Difficult Road to Equality: Objects from Integration at Ole Miss”
University Museum and Historic Houses
Through October 2012
Library Exhibit: “We Shall March Ahead: Mississippi and the Civil Rights Movement”
This exhibit contained several cases devoted to the integration of the university, including the James Meredith, Russell Barrett (former UM professor of political science) and Sidna Brower Mitchell (former editor of The Daily Mississippian) cases.
Faulkner Room, UM Libraries
