The Sixties

First Black at University of Mississippi

By Marc Schulman The Sixties 2 min read

Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black ordered the immediate admittance of James Meredith to the University of Mississippi. Mississippi's governor, Ross Barnett, attempted to bar Meredith's entry. President Kennedy, however, federalized the National Guard, which then forced his admittance.

Watch · HistoryCentral on YouTube

· · ·

← Back to the timeline

From our shop · History Shopping

1962, on a mug, poster or shirt

Our illustration of 1962, with the year at a glance. For someone born, married or graduated that year. From $16.95, printed to order.

See 1962 in the shop →

From the makers of HistoryCentral · For iPhone and iPad

The Twentieth Century

1900–2024, year by year. Pick any year and see the whole world in it: the war, the election, the discovery, the song that was number one.

See all our history apps →