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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Civil rights icon to headline North Idaho conference

Civil rights activist James Meredith grimaces in pain as he pulls himself across Highway 51 in Hernando, Mississippi, after being shot during a voting rights march on June 6, 1966. Meredith, who defied segregation to enroll at the University of Mississippi in 1962, completed the march from Memphis, Tennesse, to Jackson, Mississippi, after treatment of his wounds. (Jack Thornell / Associated Press)

James Meredith, an icon of the civil rights movement and an Air Force veteran, will visit Coeur d’Alene, Moscow and Lewiston for a three-day “Walk the Talk” conference starting Oct. 16 at North Idaho College.

Meredith, 82, became the first black student admitted to the segregated University of Mississippi in 1962, with the intervention and protection of U.S. marshals.

In 1966, he was shot on the second day of a planned 220-mile march to encourage African-Americans in the South to register to vote. A Pulitzer Prize-winning photo of a bleeding Meredith crawling on a highway and grimacing in pain helped galvanize the civil rights cause.

Meredith will discuss the past and present of civil rights during a series of lectures and break-out sessions sponsored by the Human Rights Education Institute in Coeur d’Alene. The visit includes a presentation at NIC’s Schuler Performing Arts Center in Boswell Hall on Oct. 16 at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $10, or free for high school students.

On Oct. 17 at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Meredith will participate in workshops for human rights activists, educators, students and people who work in law enforcement and public service. He’ll also deliver a keynote dinner talk and sign copies of his memoir, “A Mission from God.” The cost ranges from $30 to $50.

He also will speak at the Silverthorne Theatre at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Oct. 18 at 2 p.m. That event is free.

Information: www.hrei.org or info@hrei.org.