Mississippi’s state song was deliberately dedicated as defiance on the eve of Meredith’s enrollment.

Evidence

The new lyrics are more in line with what one might expect from a rah-rah official state song, but they retain an unmistakable note of defiance: “Go, Mississippi, keep rolling along / Go Mississippi, you cannot go wrong.” The new song was officially dedicated by Barnett at the Ole Miss–University of Kentucky football game on September 29, 1962, the night before Meredith was to enroll. It was performed by the Ole Miss marching band in front of more than forty-one thousand fans. Since 2000, there have been at least four bills introduced in the Mississippi legislature to replace it because of its segregationist roots; all have died in committee. — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long, 140

Categorization

• SHARE: The detail that the state song was re-dedicated at a football game the night before James Meredith enrolled is worth sending to anyone into Mississippi or civil-rights trivia.