The University of Mississippi has a notorious history of racial violence; namely when James Meredith attempted to integrate the university in 1962.
The university’s violent racial identity was further fueled when in 2004 the Ole Miss chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon was suspended from campus for a year, and then removed all together when members pushed a black student down the stairs and yelled racial slurs at him.
Even a racially motivated murder of a black man by several black teens recently in Jackson can drive many in Oxford to wonder, is Race a problem at Ole Miss?
By looking around the campus one would not think so. From one end to another you will see a myriad of races all socializing among each other without a care in the world.
“From what I have experienced so far, there doesn’t seem to much of a racial problem,” said Carl Case a mixed sophomore psychology major. “I’m mixed, and some people say that I should pick a race and stick with it, but everyone has accepted me here, no problem.”
For some race relations in their college experience has not been as smooth.
“There have been times where I felt like I have not been fully welcome in some places,” said Dante Oliver a black sophomore Biology major. “However, I will not allow a few bigots to ruin
all the great things Ole Miss has to offer,”
Ole Miss has taken great strides to make the campus as diverse as possible.
Soon after the DKE incident in 2004 the University, along with the William Winters Institute for Racial Reconciliation, created a retreat, called One Mississippi that would help smooth over race relations on campus.
The annual retreat, which features several different ice breaking scenarios that help students of different race, gender, religion, and economic backgrounds to get to know one another and help them understand that there really is not much of a difference between them.
“I learned so much a bout my peers, and I learned to not judge a book by its cover,” said Nathaniel Weathersby a black intern for the William Winter’s Institute. “That’s the worst thing you can ever do. It was such a humanizing experience.”
“As for the question of racial problems, I think there will always be a racial problem, as long as people don’t understand one another. Until people take the time out to know one another, it will always be a problem,” he added.
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