Photo by Caroline McCutchen.
In commemoration of 60 years since James Meredith became the first African American to attend the University of Mississippi, Bozarts Gallery debuted Suzi Altman’s photography collection titled “I’m Still Here: Documenting James Meredith” on Sept. 17 in Water Valley, Miss.
Featuring a vivid mosaic of 60 photos and portraits, “I’m Still Here: Documenting James Meredith” reflects an array of Altman’s work that chronicles different aspects of Meredith’s life in the midst of his continuous role as a civil rights activist.
For nearly 15 years, Bozarts Gallery has showcased regional, local and national artists. This was the first event back in full force following the pandemic as part of the art crawl in Water Valley.
Annette Trefzer, owner of Bozarts Gallery, hosted a lively reception where guests perused the exhibitions, followed by a conversation with Meredith.
“Thank you for being here because this could be the most important day of the rest of my life, and I mean that,” Meredith said.
Meredith has accomplished much throughout his 89 years and his passion for activism persists. He proclaimed to the crowd that he promised God that as long as he remained alive he was going to accomplish building a James Meredith Museum and a James Meredith Bible society mission headquarters in Jackson, Miss.
“What I have decided to do today as a kickoff to the celebration that begins next week is everywhere, every county I go to — and this is the first — I’m looking for not one person but every 100 people in that county to promise to give $100 to the Meredith building fund for a historical museum and a mission headquarters,” Meredith said. “The purpose of the museum is to document this progress from the worst day to the best day that has happened since 1960.”
As he advocated for civil reforms and institutions to document the progress of his mission, Meredith noted the persistent state of racial inequality by citing the lack of medical care present for racial minorities and the recent water crisis in Jackson.
“He’s still here. We all have work to do, and let’s do it in honor of him,” photojournalist Suzi Altman said.
Over the course of two decades, Altman has intently followed and documented Meredith’s life mission to continue championing civil rights within a diverse collection of moments in time.
“The first picture I ever took of James Meredith was for the 40th anniversary of desegregation of Ole Miss for The New York Times in September 2002,” Altman said.
Mary Lapides, a close friend of Altman who helped make the event possible, discussed the variety of content present at the gallery.
“Each vignette of photographs really tells a story about some aspect of the past,” Lapides said.
Aside from her photography, Altman continues to carry on the mission of Meredith through the New-Miss brand, as all proceeds from the company go to Meredith and his estate.
“Ole Miss has been publicizing now for three months that they are going to celebrate 60 years of integration,” Meredith said, wearing his “New Miss, I’m Still Here” hat. “Now they say they love it, but for 50 years they said it never occurred.”
Meredith summed up his mission with some closing remarks.
“I want to start that change,” Meredith said. “The mission is to raise the moral character of Mississippi as an example for the world, and I think if Mississippi does it, the whole world will follow us.”
Trefzer welcomes students to visit Bozarts Gallery and experience the documentation of Meredith’s legacy. The photography exhibition will be on display through Oct. 8. The gallery is open Thursday, Friday and Saturday by appointment.
