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The Daily Mississippian
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    UM students vote: Presley vs. Reeves

    UM students vote: Presley vs. Reeves

    Numerous hurdles stand in the way of young voters

    Numerous hurdles stand in the way of young voters

    UM launches creative writing program

    UM launches creative writing program

    Author Roosevelt Montás champions free thinking, liberal arts

    Author Roosevelt Montás champions free thinking, liberal arts

    Eat up, Rebs: UM expands dining options on campus

    Eat up, Rebs: UM expands dining options on campus

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    ASB Senate prioritizes transparency, passes bill

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    Three takeaways from Ole Miss’ disappointing loss to Alabama

    Michael Trigg, Reginald Hughes no longer part of Ole Miss Football

    Carry-on, Jerrion

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    Three takeaways from Ole Miss’ nail-biter in College Station

    Player Spotlight: Quinshon Judkins promises to ramp things up

    Ole Miss Hockey returns: new player breakdown

    Ole Miss Hockey returns: new player breakdown

    Football realigns conferences, but at what cost?

    Football realigns conferences, but at what cost?

    Player Spotlight: Jaxson Dart beats skeptics

    Player Spotlight: Jaxson Dart beats skeptics

  • Arts & Culture

    Snackbar to host “Food of My People” with Betsy Chapman

    Morgan Wallen to return to Oxford

    Morgan Wallen to return to Oxford

    Student-made cooking show arrives on campus

    Student-made cooking show arrives on campus

    CASA Encore raises an impressive $450K

    CASA Encore raises an impressive $450K

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    My Blackness isn’t on a schedule

    Designer versus fast fashion: Is it worth the investment?

    My Blackness isn’t on a schedule

    How an ATV wreck saved my life

    My Blackness isn’t on a schedule

    Casual drug use runs rampant across campus

    My Blackness isn’t on a schedule

    Press on, Presley

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  • News
    UM students vote: Presley vs. Reeves

    UM students vote: Presley vs. Reeves

    Numerous hurdles stand in the way of young voters

    Numerous hurdles stand in the way of young voters

    UM launches creative writing program

    UM launches creative writing program

    Author Roosevelt Montás champions free thinking, liberal arts

    Author Roosevelt Montás champions free thinking, liberal arts

    Eat up, Rebs: UM expands dining options on campus

    Eat up, Rebs: UM expands dining options on campus

    ASB Senate prioritizes transparency, passes bill

    ASB Senate prioritizes transparency, passes bill

  • Sports
    • All
    • Game Recap
    Three takeaways from Ole Miss’ disappointing loss to Alabama

    Michael Trigg, Reginald Hughes no longer part of Ole Miss Football

    Carry-on, Jerrion

    Rebels seek first SEC win against LSU

    Three takeaways from Ole Miss’ nail-biter in College Station

    Player Spotlight: Quinshon Judkins promises to ramp things up

    Ole Miss Hockey returns: new player breakdown

    Ole Miss Hockey returns: new player breakdown

    Football realigns conferences, but at what cost?

    Football realigns conferences, but at what cost?

    Player Spotlight: Jaxson Dart beats skeptics

    Player Spotlight: Jaxson Dart beats skeptics

  • Arts & Culture

    Snackbar to host “Food of My People” with Betsy Chapman

    Morgan Wallen to return to Oxford

    Morgan Wallen to return to Oxford

    Student-made cooking show arrives on campus

    Student-made cooking show arrives on campus

    CASA Encore raises an impressive $450K

    CASA Encore raises an impressive $450K

  • Opinion
    My Blackness isn’t on a schedule

    Designer versus fast fashion: Is it worth the investment?

    My Blackness isn’t on a schedule

    How an ATV wreck saved my life

    My Blackness isn’t on a schedule

    Casual drug use runs rampant across campus

    My Blackness isn’t on a schedule

    Press on, Presley

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The Daily Mississippian
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Journalism professor’s book ‘We Believed We Were Immortal’ offers unique perspective on university’s integration

Sarah SmithbySarah Smith
September 11, 2017
Reading Time: 2 mins read

Journalism professor Kathleen Wickham is kicking off her book tour for “We Believed We Were Immortal” at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Off Square Books to commemorate the 55th anniversary of James Meredith’s enrollment as a student at Ole Miss.

kathleen wickham
Photo courtesy: Square Books

“We Believed We Were Immortal” remembers a few of the more than 300 journalists who covered the Civil Rights Movement in Oxford during September 1962, which included the integration of Ole Miss and the arrival of its first African-American student, James Meredith.

The book features multiple pictures from a variety of both student and professional journalists, and at the end of each chapter, a news story written pertaining to what the journalist of that chapter covered.

Wickham said she was inspired first by the courage of Paul Guihard, a French journalist who was killed during the riots. His death is still unsolved, and he is the first of the 12 journalists Wickham discusses in her book.

“He was the only reporter killed during the Civil Rights Movement,” Wickham said.

Wickham said another inspiration was The Daily Mississippian editor at the time, Sidna Brower. Brower had declared for a calm acceptance that this was happening and faced backlash due to this.

For some of the journalists who covered the event, like Dan Rather, who would later become renowned for his journalism, this was their first big story. It is worth mentioning that African-American journalists were banned from campus the night of the riot due to safety precautions.

Curtis Wilkie, a former student at Ole Miss, highly decorated journalist and now Overby fellow, played a large role in helping Wickham track down sources for this book. Wilkie said he thought it was a “fresh addition” to the books that have been written about the Meredith riot.

kathleen wickham
Photo courtesy: Square Books

The map featured at the beginning of this book was drawn by Wilkie when he was a student. Wilkie said the only reason he had drawn the map was to explain to his mother what had happened that night.

Wilkie and his mother hadn’t talked on the telephone that night, so he sent her a letter with the map instead. They can both now be found in the J.D. Williams Library’s special collections on the third floor.

“(It was a) very good and strong introduction into the world of journalism,” Wilkie said about being a student during the riot.  

Wickham has met James Meredith on various occasions, and Meredith wrote a book blurb for her book. Wickham said in 2016 she took some of her students to interview Meredith for the media ethics class she teaches at the university.

Wickham said this book took years of visiting archives and scanning social media. After researching, Wickham, with the help of Wilkie, tracked down the journalists who were still alive to remember the James Meredith riots.

Wickham said these men and women did it because that’s “what we do as journalists.” 

Lyn Roberts, general manager of Square Books, said she gained a fresh perspective on the riot after reading this story.

Wickham will be introduced by Wilkie at the event Tuesday night.

“(It’s) something that should be remembered,” Roberts said.

In Case You Missed It

Snackbar to host “Food of My People” with Betsy Chapman

16 hours ago
Three takeaways from Ole Miss’ disappointing loss to Alabama

Michael Trigg, Reginald Hughes no longer part of Ole Miss Football

22 hours ago
Morgan Wallen to return to Oxford

Morgan Wallen to return to Oxford

22 hours ago
Student-made cooking show arrives on campus

Student-made cooking show arrives on campus

22 hours ago
CASA Encore raises an impressive $450K

CASA Encore raises an impressive $450K

22 hours ago
UM students vote: Presley vs. Reeves

UM students vote: Presley vs. Reeves

23 hours ago

Journalism professor’s book ‘We Believed We Were Immortal’ offers unique perspective on university’s integration

Sarah SmithbySarah Smith
September 11, 2017
Reading Time: 2 mins read

Journalism professor Kathleen Wickham is kicking off her book tour for “We Believed We Were Immortal” at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Off Square Books to commemorate the 55th anniversary of James Meredith’s enrollment as a student at Ole Miss.

kathleen wickham
Photo courtesy: Square Books

“We Believed We Were Immortal” remembers a few of the more than 300 journalists who covered the Civil Rights Movement in Oxford during September 1962, which included the integration of Ole Miss and the arrival of its first African-American student, James Meredith.

The book features multiple pictures from a variety of both student and professional journalists, and at the end of each chapter, a news story written pertaining to what the journalist of that chapter covered.

Wickham said she was inspired first by the courage of Paul Guihard, a French journalist who was killed during the riots. His death is still unsolved, and he is the first of the 12 journalists Wickham discusses in her book.

“He was the only reporter killed during the Civil Rights Movement,” Wickham said.

Wickham said another inspiration was The Daily Mississippian editor at the time, Sidna Brower. Brower had declared for a calm acceptance that this was happening and faced backlash due to this.

For some of the journalists who covered the event, like Dan Rather, who would later become renowned for his journalism, this was their first big story. It is worth mentioning that African-American journalists were banned from campus the night of the riot due to safety precautions.

Curtis Wilkie, a former student at Ole Miss, highly decorated journalist and now Overby fellow, played a large role in helping Wickham track down sources for this book. Wilkie said he thought it was a “fresh addition” to the books that have been written about the Meredith riot.

kathleen wickham
Photo courtesy: Square Books

The map featured at the beginning of this book was drawn by Wilkie when he was a student. Wilkie said the only reason he had drawn the map was to explain to his mother what had happened that night.

Wilkie and his mother hadn’t talked on the telephone that night, so he sent her a letter with the map instead. They can both now be found in the J.D. Williams Library’s special collections on the third floor.

“(It was a) very good and strong introduction into the world of journalism,” Wilkie said about being a student during the riot.  

Wickham has met James Meredith on various occasions, and Meredith wrote a book blurb for her book. Wickham said in 2016 she took some of her students to interview Meredith for the media ethics class she teaches at the university.

Wickham said this book took years of visiting archives and scanning social media. After researching, Wickham, with the help of Wilkie, tracked down the journalists who were still alive to remember the James Meredith riots.

Wickham said these men and women did it because that’s “what we do as journalists.” 

Lyn Roberts, general manager of Square Books, said she gained a fresh perspective on the riot after reading this story.

Wickham will be introduced by Wilkie at the event Tuesday night.

“(It’s) something that should be remembered,” Roberts said.

In Case You Missed It

Snackbar to host “Food of My People” with Betsy Chapman

16 hours ago
Three takeaways from Ole Miss’ disappointing loss to Alabama

Michael Trigg, Reginald Hughes no longer part of Ole Miss Football

22 hours ago
Morgan Wallen to return to Oxford

Morgan Wallen to return to Oxford

22 hours ago
Student-made cooking show arrives on campus

Student-made cooking show arrives on campus

22 hours ago
CASA Encore raises an impressive $450K

CASA Encore raises an impressive $450K

22 hours ago
UM students vote: Presley vs. Reeves

UM students vote: Presley vs. Reeves

23 hours ago

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