Courtney Pearson and her father, Commander Kerry Pearson, walk across the Ole Miss football field during halftime at the Ole Miss-Auburn football game. Pearson became the first African-American homecoming queen in the university’s history. Photo by Alex Edwards.
By Alex Edwards
Although 33 years separate their time at the University of Mississippi, Rose Flenorl and Courtney Pearson share many similar experiences growing up in the southern United States.
Their individual experiences at Ole Miss help illustrate the racial changes that have been made over the past 50 years at the state’s oldest university. The University of Mississippi was chartered in 1844 and welcomed its first class of 80 students in 1848. After 114 years, James Meredith’s enrollment forcibly ended Ole Miss’ segregation and created new opportunities for blacks in Mississippi. Read more at www.hottytoddy.com.
