The March
As shown in the picture to the right, the march started in Memphis and continued on to Hernando, Grenada, Greenwood, Indianola, Belzoni, Canton, and ended in Jackson. The march was 220 miles long and started on June 5th. It continued on until June 26th when it ended.
The March Against Fear gained interest when Martin Luther King, Stokely Carmichael, and Floyd McKissick joined. After Meredith was shot during the March, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr was elected to continue the march in his absence. After this about 2,000 people joined the march. It was 20 days before Meredith, at the hospital would be able to rejoin the march. Mississippi If you were black in Mississippi in the 1960's, you couldn't vote, couldn't hold office, serve on jury, and you were totally segregated from normal American life. The number of 22,000 black voters in 1952 was broken down by violence and terrorist threats to 8,000 in 1958.
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James Meredith
James Meredith was the man that lead the march. He was born on June 25th, 1933 in Mississippi. Meredith was among the first wave of black soldiers to serve in the racially integrated US armed forces. While living in Mississippi Meredith felt conscious of his race. The thing that lead him to do the march was when he was younger and applied for collage at Ole Miss but was refused because of racial reasons. This case went to the Federal Court in September of 1962. The Federal Court ordered Ole Miss to admit Meredith. Meredith was the first black student admitted to the university of Mississippi.
Memorandum From Benjamin F. Payton Regarding the March
http://www.thekingcenter.org/archive/document/memorandum-benjamin-f-payton-regarding-meredith-mississippi-march
The Shooting of James Meredith
Meredith was shot by a man Aubrey Norvell with a 16 guage automatic shotgun three times. He was shot by Highway 51 in Hernando on the 26th mile. Meredith was taken to the hospital where the doctors removed around 70 shotgun pellets from his head, neck, and body.
End of March Rally
In Jackson, Mississippi, where the march ended there was a rally to celebrate the march. There were approximately 16,000 African Americans and several hundred whites at the rally welcoming the marchers. At the rally Meredith made a speech and made his beliefs known.
Support
In order to support the march people were encouraged to donate money and write letters to get in contact with people of higher authority. They wanted as man letters to be sent as possible because the more letters sent the more significant the impact. Leaders needed people who were "particularly useful" in securing registration during the march.People worked together and stayed dedicated in order to complete the task at hand.
Significance
The March Against Fear was meant to encourage African Americans to vote. The march was recognized as symbolic because of the events that produced it and because of all the racial conflicts that it revealed. Blacks felt that they needed to voice their concerns.
Summary of the March
The summer of 1966, James Meredith began a walk from Memphis Tennessee to Jackson Mississippi, the march got its name from James Meredith, getting called "The March Against Fear". The purpose of the march was to encourage African Americans to register and vote, another contributing factor was to encounter the continuing racism after the passage of federal civil rights legislation in the previous two years. On June 6, 1966 Meredith was wounded with a shotgun blast by Norvell, this took him out of the march but he recovered to later join and lead the march into Jackson Mississippi. The walk lasted 3 weeks and all together covered 220 miles. 2,500 to 3,000 Mississippians voted during the march, while over 16,000 African Americans and several hundred whites showed up in Jackson that day to see Meredith complete the journey. Many groups joined in on the march, including the SNCC, SCLC, MFDP, and CORE.
Citations
Primary
Doyle, William. An American Insurrection: The Battle of Oxford, Mississippi, 1962. New York: Doubleday, 2001. Print.
This book gave me detailed facts and explained the events that occurred on June 6, 1966.
Floyd McKissick of CORE, Martin Luther King, Jr. of SCLC With Stokely Carmichael of SNCC During the March Against Fear in Mississippi, June 1966. N.d. Flickr. Web. 28 Apr. 2015.
This picture shows MLK, Stokely Carmichael, and Floyd McKissick.
James Meredith: March Against Fear. N.d. Blogspot.com. Web. 28 Apr. 2015.
This is a picture that shows how big the march really became.
James Meredith. 2015. Mississippi, Mississippi. Http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Meredithrights-movement/. Web. 28 Apr. 2015.
This image is of James Meredith during the march.
MARCH AGAINST FEAR 21. N.d. Move-On-Up.org. Web. 28 Apr. 2015.
This picture shows James Meredith after he was shot.
"Memorandum from Benjamin F. Payton Regarding Meredith Mississippi March." Memorandum from Benjamin F. Payton Regarding Meredith Mississippi March. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2015.
This source is a memorandum that was sent in 1966. This memorandum talks about ways people could help support the march.
Memories-Civil Rights Movement. N.d. Https://www.pinterest.com/doubbleg/h-memories-civil-rights-movement/. Web. 28 Apr. 2015.
This image shows shortly after James Meredith was shot by Aubrey James Norvell.
"The Meredith Mississippi March-June 1966." The James Meredith March. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2015.
This website gave me a summary of what happened during the march and who was involved.
(25428) Civil Rights, Demonstrations, "Meredith March Against Fear," Mississippi, 1966. N.d. Mississippi, Mississippi. Http://reuther.wayne.edu/node/7828. Web. 28 Apr. 2015.
This image shows how many people who were involved in the march, and what it looked like for a bystander.
Secondary
Hardy, Sheila Jackson., and P. Stephen. Hardy. Extraordinary People of the Civil Rights Movement. New York: Children's, 2007. Print.
This book was called “Extraordinary People of the Civil Rights Movement”. This book talked a lot about Meredith and his accomplishments in the Civil Rights Movement.
"James Meredith and the March Against Fear." Publishing the Long Civil Rights Movement RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2015.
This website gave me detailed facts and explained what happened during the march against fear. This website gave me an understanding of the march.
"James Meredith and the March Against Fear." Publishing the Long Civil Rights Movement RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2015.
This website gave me many facts and a more clear understanding of james Meredith. It went into detail about the march and who was involved in it.
"March Against Fear (1966)." PBS. PBS, 23 Aug. 06. Web. 29 Apr. 2015.
This website talked about how many people joined the march and who could and was involved. The website gave me many details about who was involved.
"Meredith's March Against Fear." Meredith's March Against Fear. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2015.
This website had a lot of interesting facts. It talked a lot about Meredith and how he was shot.
N. Route of James Meredith's March Against Fear, 1966 (n.d.): n. pag. Web.
This picture shows the route of the march.
Shay, Alison. "James Meredith and the March Against Fear." Publishing the Long Civil Rights Movement RSS. N.p., 6 June 2012. Web. 24 Apr. 2015.
This website was useful because it gave a lot of background information. It talked a lot about the purpose of the march and how it was supported.
Simkin, John. "Spartacus Educational." Spartacus Educational. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2015.
This was a website that gave a lot of facts. It had a lot of dates and places about the march.