Background: After the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision declared segregated public schools unconstitutional, many Southern institutions resisted integration. The University of Mississippi (often called "Ole Miss") maintained policies and local opposition that kept Black applicants from enrolling. Meredith's application and legal challenge: James H. Meredith, a Gulfport, Mississippi native and Air Force veteran, applied for admission in 1961. When the university denied his application, citing spurious reasons, Meredith filed a lawsuit arguing the denial violated his constitutional rights. Federal courts eventually ruled in Meredith's favor, ordering the university to admit him. Escalation and federal intervention: The state's governor, Ross R. Barnett, publicly opposed Meredith's enrollment and sought to block it, framing his resistance as defense of state's rights. Tensions intensified in early June 1962 when the federal government attempted to enforce the court order. President John F. Kennedy and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy agreed that federal authority had to be upheld. The violence of June 1962: On the day set for Meredith to register, June 30, 1962, a large crowd of segregationist protesters gathered on the Oxford campus. Federal marshals initially escorted Meredith, but the confrontation escalated into a violent riot involving gunfire, arson, and widespread disorder. Two civilians were killed and dozens were wounded. Federal forces, including U.S. Army troops and National Guard units federalized by the president, were deployed to restore order. Meredith enrolls: Under heavy federal protection following the riot, James Meredith successfully registered as a student. He lived under guard for a time while attending classes. Meredith later earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Mississippi in 1963, becoming a symbol of legal enforcement of desegregation and individual courage in the face of organized resistance. Consequences and significance: The events at Ole Miss underscored the federal government's willingness to enforce civil rights rulings against entrenched local opposition. The confrontation exposed deep divisions in American society over race and states' rights and demonstrated that court decisions required executive enforcement to have practical effect. Meredith's enrollment did not end segregationist sentiment in Mississippi, but it was a milestone in dismantling legal segregation in higher education. Historiography and caveats: Accounts of the Oxford riot and Meredith's experience draw on contemporaneous reporting, court records, and later historical studies. Some details—such as exact crowd sizes, individual actions during chaotic moments, and the roles of specific local officials—are described with varying emphasis in different sources. The core facts that Meredith sued for admission, federal courts ordered his admission, violent resistance erupted, and federal forces enforced the order are well documented.