OXFORD, Miss. – Forty-six years ago Robert F. Kennedy gave
the order for federal troops to facilitate integration at
the University of Mississippi. Appropriately, the progress
of race relations at the institution is being examined next
week, as CNN remembers the 40th anniversary of the former
U.S. attorney general’s assassination.
A camera crew visiting the Oxford campus Tuesday and
Wednesday (May 27-28) conducted interviews with several UM
staff and students and filmed archival photos from the J.D.
Williams Library to be featured in a segment of the cable
news network’s “Black in America” series. The program is
scheduled to air between noon and 3 p.m. June 5, a day
before the anniversary of Kennedy’s assassination.
“Segregation represented a big stumbling block for Robert
Kennedy in 1962,” said Rusty Dornin, CNN correspondent.
“Obviously his role as attorney general at that time had a
very powerful impact upon integration in the South and at
the University of Mississippi in particular. What we wanted
to see is how far race relations have progressed here since
then.”
Intrigued by Kennedy’s role as attorney general during
1960’s desegregation of the university, CNN Senior Editor
David Schecter conducted an Internet search and found the
Web page for the William Winter Institute for Racial
Reconciliation. Impressed by the institute’s work and
especially its use of multiracial groups of students, he
recommended it for inclusion in the story.
Dornin interviewed Susan Glisson, director of the Winter
Institute, who acknowledged both Kennedy’s pivotal role and
subsequent increase in the number of African American
students at UM as clear victories in race relations.
“Attorney general Robert Kennedy’s use of federal military
intervention made the university live up to its promises of
democracy,” Glisson said. “Since then, the university has
learned that it does not need the federal government in
order to make decisions to do the right thing.”
Beyond the integration of classrooms and dormitories,
Glisson cited student-initiated interracial gatherings and
activities, such as the One Mississippi Retreat held in
February in Louisville. There, nearly 80 student leaders
met to discuss the campus’ social polarization and
organizing strategies to promote more opportunities for
cross-cultural interaction.
Dornin also is scheduled to interview Donald Cole,
assistant provost and assistant to the vice chancellor for
multicultural affairs, and student interns Melissa Cole of
Jackson and Jake McGraw of Oxford.
“Integration of the University of Mississippi was called
‘the last battle of the Civil War,'” Glisson said. “In the
nearly 50 years since then, the institution has made a huge
effort to rid itself of the vestiges of its confederate
past. Still, there are ironies between the past we
inherited and the progress we’ve made and continue to
make.”
Since its founding in 1999, the institute has operated on
private funds, working in some 22 communities to promote
better communication and understanding among people of all
races, while spurring community development throughout the
state. Its reputable work throughout Mississippi has
attracted the interest of community leaders around the
region who seek guidance from Glisson and her staff in
initiating their own projects which aspire to bring
together residents for the purpose of civic renewal.
For more information about the William Winter Institute for
Racial Reconciliation and its programs, contact Glisson at
662-915-6734 or visit http://www.olemiss.edu/winterinstitute