July 6, 1963 - James Meredith, a hero to his race less than a year ago, today wept “my first tears since I was a child” over the “intolerance and bigotry” he said he found at the NAACP convention in Chicago. Meredith, the Air Force veteran who integrated the University of Mississippi in the midst of a bloody riot, said he could not sleep following the tongue-lashing he received for the moderate views he expressed at the convention last night. In his speech, Meredith said that “Negro youth has that ‘yeah, maybe, but not me’ attitude. Bull! Any one of you burrheads out there could be the owner or manager of a large department store, president of a corporation, or even mayor of Chicago. Only believe — all things are possible if you only believe.” He scolded youth leaders for “the low quality of leadership among our young Negroes.” His speech was received negatively, and he was scolded by an NAACP official. Today, he said: “If we are to take on the same characteristics of our oppressors and enemies — intolerance, bigotry, and allowing no voice to speak but those that say what they want to hear — I feel that our cause may well be doomed.” Meredith’s experience symbolized a widening rift between civil rights leaders which has been evident during the NAACP’s stormy week-long convention. The rift is between the “moderate” wing of the civil rights movement and the “direct action” advocates of a mass march on Washington to put pressure on Congress to pass an equal rights program more sweeping than that proposed by President Kennedy.
