(born 1933) In 1962 Meredith enrolled at the University of Mississippi, having had his application turned down the previous year. Governor Ross Barnett, however, defied federal courts and barred his entry to the college, triggering riots. President John Kennedy intervened, dispatching Army troops and federalizing the National Guard, forcing Barnett to back down. Four years later Meredith undertook a march from Memphis to Jackson to persuade African Americans to register to vote. On the second day of the march he was ambushed and wounded by a white man. The major civilrights organizations, SCLC, CORE, NAACP and SNCC determined to continue the march. On this march, Stokely Carmichael, newly appointed head of SNCC, turned the rhetoric towards Black Power.