Statement by Jack Greenberg to the Press at New Orleans, LA., September 27, 1962 at 1:00 P.M. C.S.T
Press Release
September 27, 1962

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Press Releases, Loose Pages. Statement by Jack Greenberg to the Press at New Orleans, LA., September 27, 1962 at 1:00 P.M. C.S.T, 1962. a2a20524-bd92-ee11-be37-6045bddb811f. LDF Archives, Thurgood Marshall Institute. https://ldfrecollection.org/archives/archives-search/archives-item/05cc635b-d0a1-4d61-87a2-26d47eed036b/statement-by-jack-greenberg-to-the-press-at-new-orleans-la-september-27-1962-at-100-pm-cst. Accessed July 30, 2025.
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“ PRESS RELEASE NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND TOCOLUMBUS CIRCLE + NEWYORK19,N.Y. © JUdson 6-8397 DR. ALLAN KNIGHT CHALMERS JACK GREENBERG CONSTANCE BAKER MOTLEY President Director-Counsol Associate Counsel S25 STATEMENT BY JACK GREENBERG TO THE PRESS AT NEW ORLEANS, LA., SEPTEMBER 27, 1962 AT 1:00 P.M. C.S.T. + "We have advised Mr. Meredith that we do not believe he should return to the University of Mississippi campus unless he is accompanied by sufficient force to assure his enrollment and continued attendance. He agrees with us. We have so informed the Department of Justice. "A trip to the campus, which tentatively had been planned for today with a force of marshals which may have been insufficient, was not made after we asserted this position. "Beyond question, the United States possesses sufficient power to enforce the orders of its courts and assure the rights of its citizens, and we have no doubt that it will employ this power. "In the meantime, we shall follow through on legal matters now pending, but we do not plan, at this time, to file any more papers. The courts obviously have and will continue to do their duty. Their orders now must be executed by the executive branch of government." STATEMENT BY JAMES H. MEREDITH OF SEPTEMBER 27, 1962, ENTITLED "MY POSITION" (This statement was written by James Meredith in New Orleans on September 26 while he waited to begin his third try to enter the University of Mississippi in Oxford. We have reproduced it with- out alteration or revision.) "In this time of crisis, I feel it ap>ropriate for me to clarify my position as to my intention, my objectives, my hopes and my desires, "For several months I have been involved in a struggle to gain my admission to the University of Mississippi. The prime objective is, of course, to receive the educational training necessary to enable me to be a useful citizen of my own home state of Mississippi. "There are those in my state who oppose me in my efforts to obtain an education in the schools of my state. They do this because I am a Negro -- and Negroes are not allowed to attend certain schools in my state of Mississippi. The schools that we are forbidden to attend are the only ones in the state that offer the training which I am desirous of receiving. =O= "Consequently, those who oppose me ave saying to me, we have given you what we want you to have and you can have no more. Except, maybe, they say to me, if you want more than we have given you, then go to some other state or some other country and get your training. "Pray tell me what logic concludes that a citizen of one state of the United States must be required to go to anothe state to receive the educational training that is normally and ordinarily offered and received by other citizens of that state. Further, what justification can possibly justify one state assuming or accepting the responsibility of educating the citizens of another pee the training is offered to other citizens of the home state "We have a dilemma. It is a matter of fact that the Negroes of Mississippi are effectively NOT first-class citizens. I feel that every citizen should be a first-class citizen and should be allowed to develop his talents on a free, equal and competitive basis. I think this is fair and that it infringes on the rights and privileges of no one. "Certainly to be denied this opportunity is a violation of my rights as a citizen of the United States and the state of Mississippi. "The future of the United States of America, the future of the South, the future of Mississippi, and the future of the Negro, rests on the decision -- the effective decision -- of whether or not the Negro citizen is to be allowed to receive an education in his own state. "If a state is permitted to arbitrarily deny any right that is so basic to the American way of life to any citizen, then democracy is a failure. "I dream of the day when Negroes in Mississippi can live in decency and respect of the first order and do so without fear of intimidation, bodily harm or of receiving personal embarrassment, and with an assurance of equal justice under the law. "The price of progress is indeed high, but the price of holding it back is much higher." ean