The first Black Miss University was not crowned until 1997, and in yearbooks dating to the 70s there is evidence of an entirely separate beauty pageant for African American women who was called ”Miss Ebony”. On the Homecoming Court itself there used to be a position of honor called the “Maiden of Cotton” as is seen in the 1979 yearbook published by the University and before being switched to Mr. Ole Miss, the male winner of the yearly personality elections was called “Colonel Rebel” after the mascot. In 2019, the first election was held for a Homecoming King and won by Carl Tart, an African American man. Articles from the Daily Mississippian speak highly of Tart and the circumstance behind his victory, claiming that his victory was unusual since he was a member of a National Pan-Hellenic organization while most personality competition winners lean heavily on having a voter base within their FSL organization. This entry was written by Constance Hartline

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Business row is the aptly named road that the School of Business and School of Accountancy. However, the road also houses the University of Mississippi's personality elections every year. These elections include the Homecoming King and Queen as well as Miss Ole Miss and Mr. Ole Miss. Large signs for candidates are erected and volunteers offer stickers with the names of their preferred winner on them. But even this seemingly innocent process has a past.

Business Row

By: Reagan Stone, Brianne Saunders, Constance Hartline, Grace Kaim, & Reagan Whittington

Sites of Black Student Experience at UM

The tension that exists between the stadium as a space to celebrate the university and a reminder of the university’s history of racism begins with the name. In 1966, Coach Johnny Vaught was interviewed regarding Ole Miss recruiting Black football players. On September 7, 1966, Vaught told a reporter from the Associated Press that he was only recruiting Black players “because we have to comply with some sort of act to get federal funds.” He went on to say “We fill out a form to show that we have looked at one. We have not found one good enough yet. None have been invited to campus. By the time we find someone good enough, I'll be gone. Let someone else do that.”[2] In the late 1970’s, “Colonel Reb” was created and adopted by the university as the official mascot. “Colonel Reb,” a cartoon older-aged white male dressed in Confederate clothing, was the university’s mascot until 2003 when then-Chancellor Robert Khayat chose to retire the mascot but to continue to use the “Ole Miss Rebels” name. [3] Today, the university’s official mascot is “Tony the Landshark,” an anthropomorphic shark. Vaught-Hemingway stadium has also been a backdrop for controversy surrounding the Confederate flag. In 1983, the university banned official use of the Confederate flag as a school symbol in response to John Hawkins’, the first Black cheerleader for the university, refusal to carry the flag.[4] Although the university disassociated itself from the flag, many students continued to fly the flag and display it at football games. In 1997, Chancellor Khayat ordered a ban on all sticks at athletic events. Although the ban was couched to be for safety reasons, it was clearly an attempt to keep Confederate flags out of the stadium.[5] Today, poles, sticks, and unauthorized banners and signs larger than 8 1/2″ x 11, are prohibited according to the stadium’s policies. [6] This entry was written by Reagan Stone

Built in 1915, Vaught-Hemingway Stadium has been the home of the University of Mississippi’s football team for over a century. The stadium was named after Judge William Hemingway, a law professor and longtime chairman of the university’s Committee on Athletics in 1947,  and later Johnny Vaught,  the winningest coach in Ole Miss history who led the football team to three national championships.[1] While the stadium is regarded as a “place for the Ole Miss family to come together as one,” the stadium has been, and in many ways continues to be, a physical representation of the racist ideology and symbols that have been supported throughout the university’s history. 

Vaught-Hemingway Stadium 

In the decades leading up to 1962, schools were segregated so white people and African Americans could not attend the same school. African Americans had to drink from different water fountains, go to different movie theaters, and so much more. Until 1962, African Americans were not allowed to attend the University of Mississippi. That changed when James Meredith applied to the University of Mississippi in 1962. Riots ended in two people dying, many more people hurt, and more still arrested.James Meredith had applied to the University of Mississippi multiple times to no success, but he never gave up. Once Meredith was accepted into the university, he had to be joined by “the protection of federal forces, including U.S. marshals” because there was “a mob of more than 2,000 students and others formed to block his way.”[1] After Meredith, one of the most memorable events to happen at the University was the recruitment of Robert Jerry “Ben” Williams. James Meredith was the man who paved the way for more and more African Americans to slowly apply to the University of Mississippi. Back around 1970, Coach John A. “Junie” Hovious became the first coach at Ole Miss to recruit the first African American football player. Hovious played football from 1939-1941 at Ole Miss. In ‘45 he played for the New York Giants and in ‘57 he was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. Hovious went out and looked for recruits, he was not told to go and look for a recruit of color. He went out and just looked for someone who was the best, skin color was not a thing in his mind. Hovious saw Ben Williams and immediately jumped on it. Introduced himself to Williams and his grandmother and the rest was history. When being interviewed, Williams had this to say “How can you be worried about ‘Dixie’ when you have a 6-foot 5,300 pound white boy foaming at the mouth across the line ready to kick in your teeth?” He went on to state, “If I play a good game, those white fans are going to stand up and cheer for me.”[2] I would like to agree with what he said because no matter what race or sex or ethnicity one is, a good player is a good player; no matter the sport.  This entry was written by Brianne Saunders.

James Meredith paved the way for other African Americans to apply for admission at the University of Mississippi and feel confident that their skin color will not determine if they get accepted or not. After Meredith, as more and more African Americans started applying to the university, confident that they would have a good education at the school of their choice whatever their skin color. Among these new students was football player Robert Jerry “Ben” Williams.

First African American Student and Football Player

The Black Student Union (“BSU”) at the University of Mississippi was founded in 1968 and received its incorporation as a student organization on March 25, 1969. During the process of incorporation, the organization also received support and endorsement from University Young Democrats, another university organization. The Black Student Union’s mission is as follows: “to stimulate the intellectual, political, cultural, and social growth of all University of Mississippi students, primarily African-American students. Through enriching experiences such as general meetings, programming, leadership and mentoring programs, and community service, we seek to educate ourselves and the larger University of Mississippi community, in hopes that awareness will spark action and ignite change in our communities. It is our belief that men and women of untapped ability become columns of wisdom when inspired by desire, and enthused by action.”[2] According to the BSU, the purpose of the organization is to “foster a sense of community at The University of Mississippi.” Since its incorporation, the BSU has been an organization that has fought for change. One of the BSU’s most notable protests took place in 1970 at Fulton Chapel where a group of BSU members interrupted a highly publicized Up With People concert and took the stage to announce a list of demands. Included in their demands was a call for hiring more Black employees and the incorporation of Black studies programs. In the 1980s, the BSU fought for the removal of racist symbols, like the Confederate flag. More recently (2016), the BSU and the University of Mississippi’s chapter of the The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) staged a sit-in at the Lyceum to demand that the university take a more aggressive public stance against a racist statement made by a student. Jordan Samson, a senior at the university at the time, made the comment on Facebook under a post regarding the protests in Charlotte, North Carolina. In the comment, Samson suggested lynching the protestors, writing, “I have a tree with room for all of them if you want to settle this Wild West style.” The Student Union is also home to the Associated Student Body (ASB). In 2000, Nic Lott was named the first African American Student Body president and in 2012, Kimbrely Dandridge was elected as president of the Associated Student Body, becoming the first African American female to hold the position. Joshua Mannery, the current ASB president is the sixth African American student to become ASB president at the university. In an interview with The Daily Mississippian after Mannery was elected, Carl Tart, the university’s first Homecoming King said “We go into these elections not expecting to hear our names on the other end. For myself and for Josh to accomplish these things, it really kind of changes the narrative for how African American students will continue to go into these elections.”[3] While the Union physically houses organizations like the BSU and ASB, which are influential in many Black students’ experience at the university, the Union is in many ways the “epicenter of Black social life at the University of Mississippi.”[4] Starting freshman year, while white students participate in sorority or fraternity recruitment or activities at the Grove, Black students are often left with limited social options, and the Union becomes a place to meet and socialize.[5] In addition, the steps of the Student Union is home to Union Unplugged, an event occurring every Tuesday and Thursday where NPHC organizations perform. This entry was written by Reagan Stone

The Student Union is home to organizations like the Black Student Union (BSU) and the Associated Student Body (ASB). In addition to being home to multiple student organizations on campus, the Union is what sociologists refer to as a “counter-space”, or a space that serves the minority group and stands in opposition to the white, dominant group, on the university’s campus that has been deemed “integral to the African-American community.”[1]



Gertrude C. Ford Ole Miss Student Union

Several protests have been held in the circle and called for the removal of the old Mississippi State flag and the Confederate monument as well. On October 24th, 2015, students and staff members gathered at the flagpole, demanding the removal of the flag due to its ties to slavery. The Student Body Senate along with two student led protest groups requested the removal of the state flag from the university's campus. Joining the protesters was Cornell William Brooks, the president, and chief executive officer for the NAACP. Along with Chancellor Morris Stocks, who stated the community of the University of Mississippi realized years ago, "the Confederate battle flag did not represent many of our core values, such as civility and respect for others"[1]. In 2015, a month after the murder of nine parishioners at the Charleston church shooting, the University removed the state flag from campus. Cornell William Brooks even congratulated students on their courage and success, " it is with confident voices and persistent action that the students, particularly the University of Mississippi student chapter of the NAACP, led the call for the flag to come down,” he said in a statement. “The lowering of the flag shows that the voices of today’s youth and leaders matter more than traditions and notions of heritage at Mississippi’s public universities." [2]. Following the lowering of the old Mississippi state flag, on February 22nd of 2019, hundreds of protesters gathered demanding the over 100-year-old Confederate Statue be moved. Two pro-confederate groups joined in a counter-protest, holding confederate symbols and chanting for the monument to stay up. Students responded by remaining peaceful and repeatedly chanting, "take it down!". The University of Mississippi had begun working on a plan to relocate the Confederate monument to the cemetery located on campus. Joshua Mannery, the university Associated Student Body President who is African-American pleaded for the statue's removal and state, “it sends the message that our university’s past, white supremacy and racist history is at the heart of our institution.”[3]. Student-led protests continued on campus and throughout the Oxford, Mississippi area. Following the death of George Floyd, on May 31st, 2020, the confederate monument was spray-painted with the words "spiritual genocide" accompanied by red handprints on either side of the statue. A Mississippi public school teacher who was a University of Mississippi graduate was later arrested and accused of vandalizing the statue. On May 27th the university's Chancellor, Glenn Boyce, released a statement in support of moving the confederate statue from the center of campus stating, "This is a time for change."[4]. On July 14th, 2020, the confederate monument was relocated to the Civil War cemetery, a more secluded area on campus. Previous plans to add headstones to the cemetery were criticized by students and staff and later abandoned. By June 18th, the state College Board approved the relocation plan for the monument. Arielle, Hudson, a Tunica, Mississippi native and the University of Mississippi's first African-American female Rhodes Scholar, was one of the many joyous people celebrating the statue's move and pleased to hear Boyce abandoned the headstone plan. Although, Hudson was disappointed that Boyce’s decision to abandon the headstone plan was only enforced after he was “pressured by hundreds of students, facility members and alumni.”[5]. A multitude of protests and riots have been centered in the circle. One of those riots held at the Confederate statue was in 1962, by people opposing the court-ordered integration of the university. Sadly, the riot ended with the death of two people. A place that once divided the university's campus is now one step closer to being a more inclusive and understanding place. Although the relocation of the statue continues to cause some concerns, the university has shown it wants to step away from its confederate ties and promote the true values of the University of Mississippi.  This entry was written by Grace Kaim

Sunlight streams through the magnolia and oak trees, squirrels jump from one bed of pansies to the soft grass, and in the center of eight of the University of Mississippi’s academic buildings is 'The Circle'. This communal walking ground separates a one-way street going through campus and holds a plethora of University history. High in the center of the circle since 1962 is the flagpole which was adorned with the old Mississippi state flag. Accompanying the flagpole is a Confederate Monument, which was donated in 1906 by the Daughters of Confederacy along with a plaque commemorating fallen confederate soldiers. This Confederate Monument stood looking towards the entrance of the University, meeting every visitor, student, faculty, and family with its glassy gaze. 

Circle on Campus 

The National Pan-Hellenic Council, otherwise known as the NPHC, has a long and complex history on the University of Mississippi Campus. First founded at Howard University, the NPHC was created to unite all historically Black Greek organizations and has been flourishing on college campuses and providing a Greek community for Black students all over the United States since 1930. In 1973, Omega Psi Phi became the first of the “Divine Nine” National Pan-Hellenic Council Greek organizations to establish a chapter at the University of Mississippi; today, six different historically Black fraternities and sororities operate on the campus. Despite having an influential presence at the university, there is a lack of symbolic representation that is painfully tangible among NPHC students. Greek Houses, or the lack thereof, are the most glaringly obvious way in which NPHC fraternities and sororities have been excluded from the University for the past fifty years. On the night of August 4, 1988 the NPHC fraternity Phi Beta Sigma was gearing up to move into their brand new house on Fraternity Row when it was suddenly burned down by a still-unknown arsonist. This incident did not change the way Black students existed on campus, but it did change the way that the public understood the Black experience at the University of Mississippi. The burning of the Phi Beta Sigma house merely brought to light the kind of hostilities that were existing in campus culture at the time. In the fallout of this attack, the University of Mississippi once again became the subject of national outrage and the question of racism on the Ole Miss campus was fresh in the minds of the public. In an article published by The Harvard Crimson newspaper on October 22, 1988, the anonymous writer argues that, “while the arson is evidence that racism remains a problem at Ole Miss, it has helped bring needed attention to the problem.”[1] Despite the majority of the university rallying around them and raising funds, Phi Beta Sigma was unable to rebuild and Fraternity Row remained segregated in practice if not in policy. Though no historically Black sorority or fraternity currently has a Greek house on campus, the subject has yet to fade from public attention. In 2016, the University of Mississippi broke ground on the National Pan-Hellenic Council Garden, which would open in the following year. Located near Crosby Hall on Northgate Drive, the garden was created to serve as a place on campus dedicated to NPHC students.[2] This project drew a good deal of contention when it was announced and still serves as the subject for debate. Some think the garden is a disappointing consolation prize to make up for the lack of NPHC housing and meeting space on campus. Others believe the garden to be a lovely addition to the school and a beautiful testament to the contributions of NPHC organizations at the University.[3]When asked whether she thought the Garden was a replacement for on-campus houses, NPHC President Candace Bolden said, “No, it is not a replacement for the houses that were removed,” and then added, “I don’t think a lot of Black Greeks spend a lot of time in what we call the ‘Greek Gardens.’” She argued that there should be more for Black Greek students at the University than what the Garden offers them. But Candace spoke of the significance of the Garden as a sort of monument to the Divine Nine, saying, “I am happy that we actually have a space on campus where people can look and see and learn a little bit about our organizations.” Despite mixed reactions, the 2016 groundbreaking of the Garden felt like something important and symbolic for Black Greek life.[4]Despite the fact that the garden is in no way a replacement for Greek houses, it still acts as a quiet and charming place where members of the National Pan-Hellenic Council can meet, study, relax, and find community. On her hopes for the future of the Garden, Candace said, “I definitely think that, here soon, we’re going to be able to translate the Greek Gardens into something that is more inclusive and more of what we want, a space where we can get together and be ourselves.” Even though this space isn’t what Black Greeks need, it could just be what opens the door to more opportunities to solidify the place of Black Greek life on campus. This entry was written by Reagan Whittington

The National Pan-Hellenic Council Greek Garden, or 'the Greek Gardens' as it is known to many students,  was announced by the University of Mississippi in 2016 and unveiled in the Spring of the following year as a sort of gift from the University to it’s historically Black Greek organizations. The garden features monuments arranged in a circle, each one representing and paying tribute to each of the 9 NPHC fraternities and sororities, nicknamed “The Divine Nine.” Although it has served as a beautiful tribute to the NPHC, the Garden in no way makes up for the lack of useful community spaces for Black Greek Students on campus.


National Pan-Hellenic Council Greek Garden

The University of Mississippi has long been known for its incredible Greek life but the school’s history with Black Greek Life has been less than simple. In 1930, the National Pan-Hellenic Council was formed at Howard University to unite all historically Black Greek organizations and has been thriving on college campuses across the U.S. ever since. Omega Psi Phi became the first of the “Divine Nine” National Pan-Hellenic Council Greek organizations to establish a chapter at the University of Mississippi in 1973. Since then, six different historically Black fraternities and sororities have found community at the University of Mississippi.[1] Despite having an undeniable importance on campus, there is a lack of physical representation and space that is painfully tangible among NPHC students. The lack of Greek Houses is the clearest way in which NPHC fraternities and sororities have been excluded from on-campus culture. It started in the summer of 1988, when members of the NPHC fraternity Phi Beta Sigma had to halt their plans to move into their new house on Fraternity Row after it was burned to the ground by a still unidentified arsonist.[2]In a similar but less violent incident, another attempt to house NPHC students on campus ended in failure. When the Residential College was built in 2007, the faculty houses that once stood in the parking lot next to “Silver Pond” on Sorority Row were demolished. For a short time, these houses had been home to three different National Pan-Hellenic Council sorority chapters: Alpha Kappa Alpha, Zeta Phi Beta, and Delta Sigma Theta. This had been the first time that historically Black sororities had housing on the University of Mississippi campus; however, the situation was less than ideal. Some did not think the houses were up to par, especially compared to the kind of housing they were surrounded by. According to Assistant Provost and Associate Professor of Mathematics Donald R. Cole, these dwellings resembled “slum houses” in the middle of a street full of gigantic and extravagant sorority houses.[3]The houses were still houses, though, and NPHC students who lived in them felt like they were finally able to claim a space on campus to call their own. It seemed like things were changing for Black Greek students on campus, but it didn’t last long. As soon as the Residential College was built, the three sororities were booted off campus once again, leaving no trace. Once again, Sorority Row was made homogenous, devoid of any semblance of the National Pan-Hellenic Council. This absence leaves a scar on the Black student community and always has. Candace Bolden, current President of the National Pan-Hellenic Council at the University of Mississippi, feels that even though she was not a member at the time these houses were destroyed, she has had to deal with the fallout of this incident. She said, “It was a big slap in the face for Black students who did attempt to create a space for themselves, especially in the sense that other members in the Greek community had their own spaces and the opportunity to grow their housing without worries of someone destroying them or burning them down or discrediting them based on how they look.”It’s no secret that Greek life dominates the University of Mississippi;–over forty percent of students here are involved in a sorority or fraternity–but members of Black Greek life face challenges that other students simply do not. The exclusion of these students, both in the physical representation of the campus and the ideological representation, creates a rift between the members and their University. These groups don’t have any set meeting place that can accommodate their numbers and they don’t have on-campus housing. For many, it feels like there isn’t a space for them on campus and the University’s actions in 2007 solidified the fact that administration simply disregard Black Greek life when making decisions. On the other hand, historically Black sororities and fraternities continue to impact the Oxford-University community through cultural events, fundraising, volunteer work, and educational forums. Their proud history on campus and in the city of Oxford shapes these students’ experience at the University of Mississippi.  This entry was written by Reagan Whittington

In 2007, three former on-campus faculty houses that had been used as National Pan-Hellenic Council sorority houses were torn down to make room for construction of the Residential College. Since National Pan-Hellenic sororities had never owned housing at the University of Mississippi, the utilization of these empty buildings for this purpose was something that could have started a whole new chapter for Black Greek life at the university. Instead, all of that progress and hope was reversed and replaced with Silver Pond. Today, no NPHC fraternities or sororities have on-campus housing at the University of Mississippi and this absence makes a tangible mark on the students involved in these organizations.

Silver Pond

The first Black Miss University was not crowned until 1997, and in yearbooks dating to the 70s there is evidence of an entirely separate beauty pageant for African American women who was called ”Miss Ebony”. On the Homecoming Court itself there used to be a position of honor called the “Maiden of Cotton” as is seen in the 1979 yearbook published by the University and before being switched to Mr. Ole Miss, the male winner of the yearly personality elections was called “Colonel Rebel” after the mascot. In 2019, the first election was held for a Homecoming King and won by Carl Tart, an African American man. Articles from the Daily Mississippian speak highly of Tart and the circumstance behind his victory, claiming that his victory was unusual since he was a member of a National Pan-Hellenic organization while most personality competition winners lean heavily on having a voter base within their FSL organization.  This entry was written by Constance Hartline

Since 1962 when James Meredith first enrolled at the University of Mississippi, we have made much progress for equal education and treatment for minority students, but to say that the road to where we are now has been simple and straightforward would be a lie. With demographics showing only around 14% of the entire student body being African American from the 2017-2018 year[1]. The Honors College serves as an example of one of the many spaces on campus for student organizations, and a space that has its own approach for helping students acclimate to the college environment. A group called The Honors College Minority Engagement Council started just recently in 2018 that helps students on campus create relationships and locate resources, but the Honors College is not without its past issues when it comes to racially insensitive students[2]. In 2019, a student self reported an instagram post of himself wearing Blackface which spurred a series of emails both from the Office of the Provost and the Honors College, one of which was entitled, “My Culture is not Your Costume”[3]. This entry was written by Constance Hartline.

The Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College is home to one of the largest student body organizations on the University of Mississippi's campus. The Honors College website states that the idea started in 1952, before the university was integrated. The SMBHC as it is known today began in 1997 with a donation from Jim and Sally Barksdale.


Sites of Black Student Experience at UM

Business Row

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information