Editing Oxford, Mississippi (section)

===20th century===
[[File:Lafayette Co Mississippi courthouse during Double Decker Festival.jpg|left|thumb|A double-decker tourist bus and the former [[Mississippi flag|Mississippi state flag]] contrast beside the Lafayette County Courthouse in Oxford, during the 2007 Double Decker Festival.]]
During the [[Civil Rights Movement]], Oxford drew national attention in the [[Ole Miss riot of 1962]]. State officials, including Governor [[Ross Barnett]], prevented [[James Meredith]], an African American, from enrolling at the [[University of Mississippi]], even after the federal courts had ruled that he be admitted. Following secret face-saving negotiations with Barnett, President [[John F. Kennedy]] ordered 127 [[United States Marshals Service|U.S. Marshals]], 316 deputized [[United States Border Patrol|U.S. Border Patrol]] agents and 97 federalized [[Federal Bureau of Prisons]] officers to accompany Meredith.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.usmarshals.gov/news/chron/2012/093012.htm |title=U.S. Marshals Mark 50th Anniversary of the Integration of 'Ole Miss' |access-date=April 23, 2020 |archive-date=May 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523031013/https://www.usmarshals.gov/news/chron/2012/093012.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> Thousands of armed "volunteers" flowed into the Oxford area. Meredith traveled to Oxford under armed guard to register, but riots by segregationists broke out in protest of his admittance.

That night, cars were burned, federal law enforcement were pelted with rocks, bricks and small arms fire, and university property was damaged by 3,000 rioters. Two civilians were killed by gunshot wounds, and the riot spread into adjacent areas of the city of Oxford.<ref>Doyle, William. ''An American Insurrection: James Meredith and the Battle of Oxford, Mississippi, 1962.'' New York: Anchor Books, 2003.</ref> Order was finally restored to the campus with the early morning arrival of 3,000 nationalized [[Mississippi National Guard]] and federal troops, who camped in the city.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mdah.state.ms.us/new/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/riot.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=March 22, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402163720/http://mdah.state.ms.us/new/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/riot.pdf |archive-date=April 2, 2015 }}</ref>