Ole Miss Honors Historian who Fought Racism

Students of University of Mississippi history professor Jim Silver will gather on the Ole Miss campus Friday, Sept. 30, to honor the historian who left Mississippi in the turbulent 1960s after a prophetic warning about the growing level of violent resistance to racial integration in the state.

A new pond on the campus is being named in honor of Silver, who first came to Oxford 75 years ago this month.

“It was just kind of coincidence. The truth is there was no grand plan,” said professor John Bradley, chairman of the commemoration committee that also gathered the private funding for a plaque honoring Silver by the pond.

“We developed a small mailing list and solicited funds. We asked for 100 people to contribute $50 each and send to the University of Mississippi Foundation to use to put up that plaque,” Bradley said. “We wanted to get more people involved because we knew the support would be wide.”...