Sept. 29, 1962
Mississippi Gov. Ross Barnett spoke at halftime of the University of Mississippi’s game against Kentucky. Barnett whipped up the all-white crowd, which some compared to a Nazi rally in Nuremberg. While Confederate battle flags waved defiantly, Barnett told the crowd of more than 40,000 gathered, “I love Mississippi. I love her people. Our customs. I love and respect our heritage.”
The next day, an insurrection took place on the Ole Miss campus after the admission of James Meredith, the first known Black student to attend.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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