The March Against Fear: The Last Great Walk of the Civil Rights Movement and the Emergence of Black Power. Ann Bausum
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He and his companions resumed their walk the next morning, Monday, June 6, accompanied once again by members of a press corps that, at the time, was predominately composed of white men. Mississippi law enforcement officers took the place of those from Tennessee as they crossed the boundary. The high point for Meredith on the second day’s hike came when they reached Hernando, the first town south of the state line. Some 150 local blacks turned out to greet him, offer encouragement, and give him assistance—everything from a free hamburger to a dollar bill.
“I was ecstatic,” Meredith recalled, decades later. He hadn’t been sure if his walk would inspire others to be brave. Just gathering to meet him took real nerve during an era when any demonstration of support for racial equality in the Deep South could trigger retaliation from whites who controlled the region’s jobs and jails. When he’d set out on his walk, Meredith had believed, as he would later state, that the “day for Negro men being cowards is over,” and here was evidence that he was right.
Then 90 minutes later a gunman literally stopped James Meredith in his tracks.
“With this announcement black people across the country began crossing Meredith’s name from the list of those in the land of the living…
They were black and they knew.
Mr. Meredith had announced his death.”
Julius Lester, civil rights activist and author, recalling reactions to James Meredith’s announcement for his walk through Mississippi
“I don’t think it’s going to amount to much.”
Nicholas Katzenbach, attorney general of the United States, commenting on James Meredith’s plan to walk from Memphis to Jackson
“I think the entire incident is God’s gift to the civil rights movement. We can do with it what we will. If we accept it and build on it, who knows what might come of it?”
James Lawson’s thoughts for Martin Luther King, Jr., about the attack on James Meredith and his survival
After being ambushed on June 6, James Meredith fell beside a row of cars where witnesses to his attack had sought shelter. Credit 7
CHAPTER 2
REACTIONS
NOTHING ABOUT Aubrey Norvell’s life appeared particularly noteworthy until Monday, June 6, 1966, when he started firing a shotgun at an icon of the civil rights era. Norvell and his wife lived in a quiet suburban neighborhood in Memphis, Tennessee. They had no children. They’d married shortly after World War II, a conflict in which Norvell had served with distinction. He and his father had owned and run a local hardware store together until 1963; in recent months he had been unemployed. No one could recall him commenting for or against racial equality, nor did he have any known connections to white supremacy groups.
After firing three shots at James Meredith, Norvell had turned to reenter the roadside underbrush alongside Highway 51. Only then had law enforcement officers recovered from their shock at his sudden attack and arrested the gunman. Norvell offered no explanation for his actions, and his motivations remained a mystery. Perhaps due to Meredith’s prominence, the local judge set a steep bail for the attacker’s release, $25,000, a sum equivalent to more than $180,000 today. This was more than double the typical rate for such offenses, and it exceeded the value of the Norvell home. Unless someone helped to secure his bail, Norvell would remain behind bars until his trial, which was set for November.
Norvell’s silence, his unremarkable past, and his ability to attack Meredith despite the presence of law enforcement prompted widespread speculation. Many people shared a feeling of outrage: How could officials have just stood by and done nothing to stop the shooting? Others seemed annoyed: Mississippi is getting blamed even though the shooter is from Tennessee! Still others appeared bewildered: Why hadn’t Norvell—an experienced hunter with wartime commendation for marksmanship—used deadlier ammunition or aimed to kill?
DATE WALKED: June 7 MILES WALKED: 6 ROUTE: South of Hernando to north of Coldwater
In the absence of a more logical narrative, people began to invent explanations for what had occurred. Maybe Norvell had acted on behalf of a white supremacy effort and the police were in on the plan, some speculated. Or maybe someone sympathetic to the civil rights movement had hired Norvell to shoot Meredith and make Mississippi look bad, others suggested. Those who avoided conspiracy theories were left to conclude that Norvell must have been a confused man during confusing times, acting alone for no apparent reason. Initial press coverage of the shooting compounded the chaos, for some of the earliest and most prominent reports mistakenly claimed that Meredith had been shot dead.
Local law enforcement officers apprehended Aubrey Norvell at the scene of Meredith’s roadside shooting south of Hernando on June 6. Credit 8
Martin Luther King, Jr., had followed the breaking news from his home base in Atlanta, Georgia, two states east of Mississippi. Even after it became clear that Meredith had survived, King and his allies in the civil rights movement prepared to respond. Words of sympathy and concern would not be enough, leaders agreed during phone calls and staff meetings. The movement’s commitment to nonviolence required action, as well. Advocates for racial equality had to resume Meredith’s effort—with or without him—and continue until they reached his objective of Jackson. To do otherwise would allow violence to have the last word. Not acting would embolden those who opposed change.
Reaching that determination was easy; deciding how to execute the plan was not. The dimensions of the undertaking were staggering. Activists viewed the previous year’s walk from Selma to Montgomery as an unprecedented achievement, but the logistical challenges of completing Meredith’s hike dwarfed that undertaking by every measure. Distance. Time. Summer heat. Endless meals. Perpetual housing. Enormous costs. It would be a monumental challenge.
Movement leaders turned almost immediately to the Reverend James Lawson in Memphis for help. This veteran activist had joined the civil rights movement after meeting King in 1957. The two men shared a deep confidence in the power of nonviolence to bring about social change. Lawson had personally trained countless movement volunteers in the principles and practice of nonviolence, and many of his students had become essential activists in the struggle for equal rights. In 1962, Lawson had assumed leadership of Centenary United Methodist Church in Memphis, the region’s largest congregation of black Methodists. His prominence in the movement, his leadership role in the local area, his experience with nonviolent protests, his organizational skills—all these factors and more made him an ideal ally in making plans for a renewed walk.