Ongoing
The university’s Associated Student Body, Black Student Union and Graduate Student Council are leading an effort called “Letters to Mr. Meredith” to allow members of the campus community to express their gratitude to Meredith and share reflections and words of appreciation. Letters can be submitted via this form.
February 2023
Friday, Feb. 3
Health Equity Lecture
Time: Noon
Location: Thad Cochran Research Center, Room 1000
Contact: kmcclendon@umc.edu
The School of Pharmacy is hosting a Health Equity Lecture by Dr. Miriam C. Purnell of the School of Pharmacy at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore where she is chair and professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Administration. She also serves as the program director for PBC Rural Health Disparities and Social Inequities.
Saturday, Feb. 4
Sites of Resistance, Sites of Healing Trip
Location: Jackson, MS
Contact: cvsweet@olemiss.edu
UM students, faculty, staff, and LOU community residents are invited on this trip to visit sites in Mississippi to reflect on the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement. Leaving from Oxford, MS, we will travel to Jackson, MS, stopping at the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum. Here we will learn about the history of the Civil Rights Movement in the state of Mississippi between 1945 and 1970. We will also stop by Jackson State University to visit the COFO Civil Rights Education Center and the Margaret Walker Center. Here we will learn more about COFO efforts in organizing the 1963 Freedom Vote, the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, and the 1964 Mississippi Summer Project, along with the impact and legacy of African American history and culture.
Space is limited, and a $20 deposit is required to reserve a spot. Information on how to submit the non-refundable deposit will be sent to those who are accepted to participate. Please fill out this form if you’re interested in participating.
Thursday, Feb. 9
Transcribe-a-Thon
Location: J.D. Williams Library, Classroom 106D
Contact: Abigail Norris or Adam Clemons
The library has archived 1,418 letters received by James Meredith during integration at the University of Mississippi. The Transcribe-a-thon events on Feb. 9, March 9 and April 13 will have participants help make James Meredith and the university’s history more accessible by selecting one of the letters to transcribe. The transcriptions will make the letters more accessible to visually impaired researchers who require machine readers and can be used for future digital scholarship research projects including sentiment analysis. Once complete, the transcriptions will be available on eGrove as part of the University of Mississippi Integration Collection.
If possible, participants should bring a laptop to work on the transcriptions.
Thursday, Feb. 16
Black History Month Keynote featuring Dr. Judy Meredith
Time: 3–4:30 p.m. — Documentary Screening with discussion led by Dr. Judy Meredith
Location: The Gertrude C. Ford Ole Miss Student Union, Room 326
Time: 6–7:30 p.m. — 2023 Keynote Address: Dr. Judy Meredith
Location: The Gertrude C. Ford Ole Miss Student Union Ballroom
Contact: 60years@olemiss.edu
Friday, Feb. 17
Black Student Union’s 10th Annual Black History Month Gala
Time: 6 p.m.-9 p.m.
Location: The Inn at Ole Miss
Contact: bsu@go.olemiss.edu
The University of Mississippi Wind Ensemble Concert: Celebrating 60 Years of Integration
The UM Wind Ensemble will honor James Meredith by performing music by African American composers such as Omar Thomas and Kevin Day, as well as Julie Giroux’s “In My Fathers Eyes.” It will also feature a very special musical guest, New Orleans own Doreen Ketchens.
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts
Contact: rndale@olemiss.edu
Tuesday, Feb. 21
2023 Black History Month Concert: Celebrating James Meredith and 60 Years of Integration
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts
Contact: gwkdor1@olemiss.edu
The concert features Tanisha Ward, soprano (guest artist), Amanda Johnston (collaborative piano), University of Mississippi Gospel Choir, University of Mississippi Men’s Glee, Lafayette-Oxford-University (Lou) Symphony Orchestra and Ole Miss African Drum And Dance Ensemble.
Sponsors include: Department of Music, Office of the Chancellor, Office of the Provost, College of Liberal Arts, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Community Engagement, Office of the Vice Chancellor For Student Affairs, Office of Global Engagement, Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, African American Studies, Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts, Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies, Center for Inclusion and Cross Cultural Engagement, School of Journalism and New Media and the Center for the Study of Southern Culture.
Thursday, Feb. 23
History as a Guide for the Future: University of Mississippi Activism Then and Now
A discussion with Dr. Joy Williamson-Lott, author of Jim Crow Campus: Higher Education and the Struggle for a New Southern Social Order
Time: 4:30–6 p.m.
Location: Robert C. Khayat Law Center, Weems Auditorium, Room 1078
Contact: 60years@olemiss.edu
Monday, Feb. 27
Faculty and Graduate Student Forum on Race & Ethnicity
University of Mississippi faculty, M.A., and Ph.D. students from all disciplines and from all colleges and schools are invited to share and discuss their research on race and ethnicity, broadly conceived, in both the United States and abroad. This forum will foster cross-disciplinary exchange, collaboration and conversations across the university to support and highlight research on race and ethnicity being done on our own campus.
Hosted by the Center for the Study of Southern Culture and the Envisioned Center for the Study of Race & Racism
Time: 8:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Location: Triplett Alumni Center, Butler Auditorium
Contact: sdelerme@olemiss.edu
Individuals interested in attending should register at this link by Friday, Feb. 17.
March 2023
Thursday, March 9
Transcribe-a-Thon
Location: J.D. Williams Library, Classroom 106D
Contact: Abigail Norris or Adam Clemons
The library has archived 1,418 letters received by James Meredith during integration at the University of Mississippi. The Transcribe-a-thon events on Feb. 9, March 9 and April 13 will have participants help make James Meredith and the university’s history more accessible by selecting one of the letters to transcribe. The transcriptions will make the letters more accessible to visually impaired researchers who require machine readers and can be used for future digital scholarship research projects including sentiment analysis. Once complete, the transcriptions will be available on eGrove as part of the University of Mississippi Integration Collection.
If possible, participants should bring a laptop to work on the transcriptions.
Monday, March 27
Open Doors
Dinner and conversations with UM administrators
Time: 5:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m.
Location: The Lyceum
Contact: 60years@olemiss.edu
Friday, March 31
Veteran & Military Services Gala with Special Recognition of James Meredith
Black tie event with a cocktail hour and dinner and program to follow.
Time: 6 p.m. (Cocktail Hour), 7 p.m. (Dinner & Program)
Location: Student Union Ballroom
Contact: andrew@olemiss.edu
April 2023
Tuesday, April 4
UM Voting Engagement Ambassadors Panel
Time: 5:30–7 p.m.
Location: Overby Center Auditorium (Room 147)
Contact: wteer1@olemiss.edu
In honor of the 60th anniversary of James Meredith’s integration at the University of Mississippi, the UM Voting Engagement Ambassadors are proud to present a panel of experts on the historic Meredith March Against Fear. On June 6, 1966, James Meredith began a one-man march from Memphis, TN to advocate for African American voter registration. His march soon cut short by an assassination attempt, Meredith’s cause was elevated by thousands of civil rights leaders, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Stokely Carmichael, who finished the march to Jackson, MS in his honor.
Author and UM faculty fellow W. Ralph Eubanks, professor and former Jackson, MS mayor Dr. Leslie Burl-McLemore, and Dr. Aram Goudsouzian, University of Memphis professor and author of Down to the Crossroads: Civil Rights, Black Power, and the Meredith March Against Fear, will lead an insightful conversation on this historic march, it’s ties into broader themes of the Civil Rights movement, and legacy of voting rights in Mississippi.
Tuesday, April 11
Honoring Diversity Excellence Reception
Join us and the Meredith family for the annual Honoring Diversity Excellence Reception. As we close out the university’s celebration of the 60th anniversary of integration, this reception will recognize the recipients of various diversity and inclusion awards and grants. We will also honor faculty and staff members from historically underrepresented communities who have been tenured or promoted as well as recognize those who have achieved other significant accomplishments. Light refreshments will be provided. The Honoring Diversity Excellence Reception is open to all members of the UM community.
RSVP using this Google form by Tuesday, March 28.
Time: 3–4:30 p.m.
Location: Student Union Ballroom
Contact: 60years@olemiss.edu
Thursday, April 13
Transcribe-a-Thon
Location: J.D. Williams Library, Classroom 106D
Contact: Abigail Norris or Adam Clemons
The library has archived 1,418 letters received by James Meredith during integration at the University of Mississippi. The Transcribe-a-thon events on Feb. 9, March 9 and April 13 will have participants help make James Meredith and the university’s history more accessible by selecting one of the letters to transcribe. The transcriptions will make the letters more accessible to visually impaired researchers who require machine readers and can be used for future digital scholarship research projects including sentiment analysis. Once complete, the transcriptions will be available on eGrove as part of the University of Mississippi Integration Collection.
If possible, participants should bring a laptop to work on the transcriptions.
May 2023
Wednesday, May 3
“…And Justice for All by Kyle Pederson” Program
“..and Justice for All” is a choral work composed by Kyle Pederson that was commissioned to celebrate World Peace Day by AVoice4Peace organization. Ole Miss Choirs is one of the commissioning universities.
Hosted by: The Department of Music
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Nutt Auditorium
Contact: dtrott@olemiss.edu
Past Events