Battle of Oxford - Last Battle of the Civil War
 

50 years ago tonight, the last battle of the Civil War was fought at the University of MS. This battle was key to so many changes in my life. 50 years ago was a time of segregation, lynchings were still discussed, signs were posted that all niggers had to be gone by nightfall, and the Democratic Party stood for rascism and oppression of minorities. Due to this "battle", my life was changed for the better. My schools were integrated long before those in the north. I was raised a Republican. Now, I'm a member of the NAACP and I have a bi-racial child.

One night changed my whole life and I am eternally grateful.

http://djournal.com/view/full_story/..._news_2nd_left

Fascinating article...

Last week on one of the talking head TV shows, James Merridith andthe FBI Special Agent that "protected" him discussed their memories and fears.

Merridith was much more sanguine about his memories
... more along the lines of "what will be will be"

Also, Kennedy's District Attorney in Washington DC talked about how
little
they actually knew about what was going on in MS "on the ground"
They got more information from the news media than they did from the officials on the scene.

It was, indeed, a historic time...

Really changed us here. I was in the Tupelo Guard unit mentioned in the late 1970's. I served with several guys who had been there. Also, my son is the 4th generation of my family to graduate from Ole Miss. The Lyceum still has bullet holes in the brick from that night

When the republican Lincoln freed the slaves, all the racists became Democrat. When the Democrats enacted civil rights legislation, all the racists became republicans.

Amazing how a whole party can be painted when extremists encamp within that party. Many only learn soundbytes rather than facts and numbers. Then graffiti artists start painting.

My son, when he was a columnist for the Daily Mississippian, had the honor of interviewing James Meredith. Meredith really seems to be a humble man and never exploited his experiences commercially. BTW, my son was the 4th generation of my family to graduate from the University of Mississippi.

In the Deep South, we had Dixie-crats. These were the hard line segregationists in the Democratic Party. They were still a force to be reckonned with while I was in high school. I can well remember the marches and rallies by both sides.

In the eyes of my community, the Democrats did stand for the "white man" and the Old Ways until the 1980's when the parties seem to flip-flop. My family became Republicans in the 1950's and have remained so

When I saw 'Guard unit' & 'racism', it made me recall a story Popdigr told. He was in the TN Nat'l Guard when they were mobilized after Martin Luther King, Jr was shot.

They rolled into Memphis, and everyone was piling outta the truck. They started handing out live ammo, and Pop's commander picked him and another guy out, and told them to turn out the two street lights on the street where they were. They looked at each other like "How in the hell do you turn out a street light?" Their commander-dude took two or three steps away, and then seeing the lights on, came back, snatched Popdigr's rifle away and slammed back into his chest and screamed "Turn them goddamned lights out!!"

They did.

Might be the only people ever to shoot out the street lights of Memphis, legally.

Must've been a hell of a time back then.