Ole Miss overcomes racial past

Ole Miss overcomes racial past

The University of Mississippi is holding the first debate of the presidential campaign this Friday.  The millions of viewers will see one thing: Ole Miss has changed.

The university’s chancellor, Robert Khayat, a former Ole Miss football star, sees the debate as an extraordinary opportunity to remember in 1962, when white students rioted, leaving two dead, in protest against the enrollment of the university’s first black student, James Meredith. 

"For many people, 1962 is locked in their memory, as far as Ole Miss is concerned," Khayat said. "Now, 46 years later, we're hosting the presidential debate and one of the candidates is an African-American. That, I think, speaks volumes about where we were and where we are."

Since Khayat was a appointed chancellor 13 years ago black enrollment has increased to 14 percent, from 5.8 percent in 1995. (Mississippi is nearly 40 percent black)  

The Confederate flag is no longer everywhere at football games.  In 2006, Civil War memorials on campus were joined by a monument to Meredith and integration.

Obama says McCain campaign not racist

Obama: McCain is cynical

Obama accuses McCain of being racist