The attack, which happened 55 years ago, propelled Meredith back into the spotlight. As he splayed onto the gravel shoulder of Highway 51, blood soaked through the back of his shirt. Meredith was hit and crawled across the road, his eyes wide with panic. ![]() He heard a shout: “James Meredith! James Meredith!”Ī white man in a roadside gully lifted his shotgun, aimed at Meredith and fired. It was June 6, 1966, the second day of his planned 220-mile trek from Memphis to Jackson, which he undertook to encourage Black people to overcome racist intimidation and to register to vote.Īs cars filled with newspaper reporters and police officers rolled nearby, he walked a sloping stretch of road lined with pine trees. James Meredith was walking down Highway 51 just south of Hernando, Mississippi.
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