What kind of fortitude would it take to breach the walls of Ole
Miss, a bastion of white supremacy in the heart of the South?
Who would dare confront the threats of lynching, threats to
family members, and the visceral hatred of thousands of people?
James Meredith was the man who did this back in 1962, and in his
memoir, A Mission from God, he tells us the story. The book is a
gripping read. We learn about the character of this man, and the
upbringing that prepared him for what he took on as a mission
from God. We hear of his father, Cap Meredith, a proud
independent farmer, whose land James Meredith bought and still
relies on for his living. Cap Meredith founded and built the
first school for blacks before James was born, mortgaging land
to raise the funds. Meredith writes: My father was the greatest
man I have ever known, and ever since I was a little boy he had
told me it was my divine responsibility to save the black race;
to unify the black, white, and Native American peoples, and to
lead our nation to t