I think last night was the worst night I ever
spent....
...[The deputies] were out there with instructions not to fire. They were fired
on, they were hit, things were thrown at them. It was an extremely
dangerous situation. ...
...
And I think it was that close. If the tear gas hadn't arrived in
that last five minutes, and if these men hadn't remained true to their
orders and instructions, if they had lost their heads and started firing
at the crowd, you would have had immense bloodshed, and I think it would
have been a very tragic situation. ...
So to hear these reports that were coming in to the President and to
myself all last night - when the situation with the state police having
deserted the situation, and these men standing up there with courage and
ability and great bravery - that was a very moving period in my life.
-- Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, October 1, 1962
History is often made when one person stands his ground and demands his
dream. But history needs its enforcers. And when James
Meredith sought
to legally become the first black person to attend the University
of Mississippi 40 years ago, the duty of upholding the federal law
allowing him to do so fell upon the shoulders of 127 deputy marshals
from all over the country who risked their lives to make his dream a
reality.
The University of Mississippi looks much different in 2002 than it did
in 1962. Since the work of those deputy marshals who enforced the
court ordered desegregation of the University of Mississippi in 1962 was
never celebrated — and rarely mentioned — state and university officials
recently made up for lost time by honoring them as well as other law
enforcement and military personnel who were involved in safeguarding
James Meredith’s right to attend classes at the University of
Mississippi.
![Pictures of James Meredith in 1962 and in 2004](then-now450.jpg)
Then and Now: Chief Marshal James Mcshane and James
Meredith in 1962; Attorney General John Ashcroft, James Meredith, and
U.S. Marshals Director Benigno Reyna at the
40th Year Commemoration
Continued:
Read about the past |
Trouble Brewing | Holding Firm
| Continued Protection |
Robert Kennedy's Statement
The Present: 40 Years Later
| The 40th Year Commemoration |
Message from Director Benigno Reyna