[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 8482-8483]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




RECOGNIZING THE HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE AND THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 
                ``JAMES H. MEREDITH MARCH AGAINST FEAR''

  Mr. WICKER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 488, submitted earlier today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 488) recognizing the historical 
     significance and the 50th anniversary of the ``James H. 
     Meredith March Against Fear,'' a 220-mile walk down Highway 
     51 from Memphis, Tennessee, to Jackson, Mississippi.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. WICKER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to 
reconsider be considered made and laid upon

[[Page 8483]]

the table with no intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 488) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  (The resolution, with its preamble, is printed in today's Record 
under ``Submitted Resolutions.'')
  Mr. WICKER. Madam President, I think this is a very appropriate time 
to recognize the Meredith March Against Fear. On June 5, 1966, 4 years 
after becoming the first African-American student to enroll at the 
University of Mississippi, James Meredith began his historic Meredith 
March Against Fear. The march began at the Peabody Hotel in downtown 
Memphis and would conclude some 3 weeks later at the Mississippi State 
Capitol in Jackson.
  On June 6, Mr. Meredith and his small band of supporters encountered 
gunshots about 1 mile south of Hernando, MS. James Meredith was shot 
three times on that day and was taken to a hospital. Although he would 
recover, Meredith was unable to complete his March Against Fear, and 
the leadership was taken over by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Floyd 
McKissick, and Stokely Carmichael. By the time the march reached the 
city limits of Canton, the number of marchers had doubled to 250. By 
the time it concluded in Jackson, there were 15,000 people in 
attendance. This overwhelming turnout made it the largest civil rights 
demonstration in the history of the State of Mississippi. More than 
4,000 African Americans were registered to vote from rallies and drives 
during the march along U.S. Highway 51.
  Mr. Meredith still lives in Jackson, where he is frequently seen 
wearing his Ole Miss cap and attending Ole Miss athletic events in 
Oxford. He will turn 83 1 day before the 50th anniversary of the 
march's conclusion.
  Today, the Senate recognizes the courageous leadership of James 
Meredith. I think it is appropriate that this resolution is sponsored 
by the three current Members of the Senate who are graduates of the 
University of Mississippi--Senator Cochran, Senator Shaheen, and this 
Senator.
  I commend the Senate on its recognition of this important individual 
and this significant milestone in the history of the civil rights 
movement.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCAIN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________