I was taught to believe that the most dishonorable thing a Meredith could do was work in a white woman’s kitchen and take care of a white man’s child. I knew I would starve to death rather than do either. James Meredith Read Quote
You gotta understand – the state of Mississippi was in rebellion. It had rebelled against the United States. Now that has been a very difficult story for America to tell, but that’s what actually happened. James Meredith Read Quote
My great-grandfather was the last ruler of the Choctaw Nation, and from birth, I was taught that my role was to restore the power and the glory to my bloodline. James Meredith Read Quote
Only whites were allowed by law and practice to attend the University of Mississippi – a public institution supported by public dollars. Anything public and supported by public dollars is for me. James Meredith Read Quote
If black people use their resources properly, they can become as competitive as any group in society – take control of our neighborhoods, our businesses, our schools, including our teachers. The only thing keeping black people from doing it is this idiotic idea about integration, about being racially balanced. James Meredith Read Quote
Have you ever heard of Irish, Poles, Germans, Italians and Jews being integrated? They go anywhere and just enjoy their rights. Why call it integration when black folks do the same thing? It’s a con job. James Meredith Read Quote
The real problem in Mississippi is almost a complete moral breakdown. In order to move Mississippi from the bottom to the top, all we have to do is just get people to do a little more what they know, to practice a little more of what they preach. James Meredith Read Quote
Integration is the biggest con job ever pulled on any group of people, any nationality in the world. It was a plot by white liberals to gain black political power for themselves and their wild ideas, and for a few black bourgeoisie who were paid to exercise leverage as black spokesmen. James Meredith Read Quote
I had developed a specifically calculated plan to break the system of white supremacy. My theory was that since Mississippi was the place, this was the ultimate: Mississippi was the place you had to break it. James Meredith Read Quote
My momma was slick as greased lightning. She knew how to get anybody and everybody to do whatever she wanted ’em to do. James Meredith Read Quote
