Posts

Showing posts from September 28, 2008

What Made The 1st Presidential Debate Significant?

Image
On September 25, 1962, James Meredith was blocked from entering Ole Miss by segregationist, Governor Ross Barnett, despite a Court order. He was later admitted on October 1, 1962 as the first black student at the university. His entrance caused riots which left two people dead, 48 soldiers injured and 30 US Marshals with gun wounds. The Governor was fined $10,000 and sentenced to jail for contempt but never paid the fine or served time. This was a pivotal moment in the history of civil rights in the United States. Forty-six (46) years later, September 26, 2008, Ole Miss is the site for the first presidential debate. With the crude history of the school, it is astonishing to note that the school is hosting the first debate which includes a Black Democratic nominee, Barack Obama. Days earlier it was questionable to whether the debate was going to take place. It was about a year ago, that the Republican nominee, John McCain, admitted that he did not know much about the economy. Af