History Book: A civil rights milestone

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Monday, September 12th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. Coming up next, the WORLD History Book. This week an attack on a U.S. Embassy and a drug lord goes to trial. But first, we return to 1962—and a milestone in the civil-rights movement. Here’s arts and media editor Collin Garbarino.

COLLIN GARBARINO: Sixty years ago this week, a U.S. district court of appeals ordered the University of Mississippi to enroll its first black student, James Meredith. In an interview in 2012, Meredith described how he saw the situation surrounding his admission to Ole Miss.

JAMES MEREDITH: What happened in 1962 at Ole Miss was war between the state of Mississippi and the United States of America.

Meredith was an Air Force veteran. He had spent two years studying at the historically black Jackson State University. When he attempted to enroll in the all-white University of Mississippi, he was denied admission—despite Brown v. Board of Education’s supposedly ending segregation almost a decade earlier.

The democratic governor of Mississippi had claimed no school in his state would be integrated as long he was in office. Meredith knew he’d need to get the courts involved.

JAMES MEREDITH: I was at war. And I knew I could win the war against Mississippi by only one means. And that was to get the federal government in a position where they had to use their force to support my rights.

Even after the courts ordered Ole Miss to accept Meredith, politicians continued to block his admission. Whites in Mississippi engaged in violent rioting. President Kennedy threatened martial law, and U.S. marshals escorted Meredith to class in early October. His example paved the way for other blacks to attend Ole Miss. Six years later, Donald Cole, who eventually became vice chancellor for academic affairs at Ole Miss, enrolled at the school. Audio here from a short documentary by the school.

DONALD COLE: I remember being outside playing and coming inside, and my parents’ eyes were glued to the television. And I remember saying, “What are y’all watching?” — “Shh, shh! University of Mississippi is being integrated.”

After graduation, James Meredith got involved in politics as a Republican, sometimes working with men who had formerly supported segregation.

Next we turn to 1992.

Thirty years ago this week Manuel Noriega, the former leader of Panama was convicted in a U.S. federal court. Two years earlier, American soldiers had captured Noriega in operation “Just Cause.” President George H. W. Bush :

GEORGE BUSH: A US Air Force C-130 is now transporting General Noriega to Homestead Air Force Base, Florida. He will be arraigned in the US district court in Miami on charges stemming from his previous indictment for drug trafficking.

Noriega had been an U.S. ally during the ’80s, but the relationship broke down toward the end of the decade. Noriega had smuggled drugs into America for years, and he began aligning himself more closely with the Colombian cartels than with the United States.

GEORGE BUSH: The United States is committed to providing General Noriega with a fair trial. Nevertheless, his apprehension and return to the United States should send a clear signal that the United States is serious in its determination that those charged with promoting the distribution of drugs cannot escape the scrutiny of justice.

On September 16th, 1992, Noriega was sentenced to 40 years in a federal prison for eight counts of drug trafficking, racketeering, and money laundering. That sentence would eventually be reduced to 17 years for good behavior, but Noriega wouldn’t go free. Instead, the U.S. government extradited him to France where he was convicted in French court of money laundering. Then at the end of 2011, France sent him back to Panama where he had been convicted in absentia to finish out 60 years worth of accumulated prison time. Noriega died of a brain tumor in 2017 at the age of 83.

From American intervention in Panama, we turn to American tragedy in Libya.

Ten years ago, on September 11th, 2012, a group of Islamic terrorists attacked the goverment compound in Benghazi, Libya. President Obama addressed Americans the next day.

BARACK OBAMA: Good Morning. Everyday, all across the world, American diplomats and civilians work tirelessly to advance the interests and values of our nation. Often, they are away from their families. Sometimes, they brave great danger. Yesterday, four of these extraordinary Americans were killed in an attack on our diplomatic post in Benghazi. Among those killed was our ambassador, Chris Stevens, as well as foriegn service officer Sean Smith. We’re still notifying the families of the others who were killed.

Two other men were killed: CIA contractors Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty.

Days later, ambassador to the UN Susan Rice, told American media this attack wasn’t planned.

SUSAN RICE: What our assessment is, as of the present, is in fact, it began spontaneously in Benghazi as a reaction to what had transpired some hours earlier in Cairo where of course as you know there was a violent protest outside of our embassy sparked by this hateful video…

But evidence emerged that suggested the State Department had intentionally misled the American people as to the cause of the attacks.

Congressional hearings sought to uncover other errors in judgment and whether they had cost Ambassador Stevens and the other three men their lives. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio questioned Hillary Clinton who had been secretary of state at the time.

REP JIM JORDAN OF OHIO: Everything points to a terrorist attack. We just heard from Mr. Pompeo about the long history of terrorist incidents—terrorist violence—in the country. And yet five days later, Susan Rice goes on five TV shows, and she says this, “Benghazi was a spontaneous reaction as a consequence of a video.” A statement we all know is false.

The questions surrounding Benghazi continued to plague Clinton during her bid for the presidency in 2016.

That’s this week’s WORLD History Book. I’m Collin Garbarino.

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