Ghosts of Ole Miss

Ok, raise your hand if you're familiar with ESPN's 30 for 30 series?
*counts hands*
Ok, cool!
Now, raise your hands if you've seen 'Ghosts of Ole Miss'.
*counts hands again*
Hmmm.......not that many hands raised.
For those of you with your hands down, let me tell you what it's about.

In 1962, James Meredith was attempting to become the first black student to intergrate the University of Mississippi.
At the same time, the Ole Miss football team was chasing a national championship.
The two worlds collided when Mr. Meredith's admission to the university set off riots.
It was so bad that the national guard had to come in to protect him.
Klaverns of the KKK and racists from all over the south converged on the campus in Oxford to fight off-what they described as- the "government takeover" of their school, and "big government" trying to tell them what to do.
Sound familiar?
What happened next was something that this part of the country will never forget.
Mr. Meredith was harrassed, beaten, and even shot one day while walking to class.
The national guard had to protect 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for the rest of the school year.
The Ole Miss football team went undefeated, but the violence and images of the riots caused a backlash among voters, and the national championship was awarded to another team.

Fifty years later, Ole Miss has it's first black SGA president.
Last week, they crowned their first black Homecoming Queen.
On the surface, the state looked like it had moved forward.
But the 'Ghost of Ole Miss' reared it's ugly head to remind us all, that racism, bigotry and hatred is still alive and well in the Magnolia state.
Check out the video:

Yep!
These are the descendents of those same people that beat, spat on, and shot James Meredith.
Their behavior is a learned behavior, and the only way to change their behavior is to start punishing the beloved institutions that their 'honorable parents and grandparents' adore.
Example:
The day after the election, I was listening to a sports talk radio show here in Birmingham, Al. when a caller called in to talk about the election and to voice his disdain for the president.
He said, " 'Obuma' may have won re-election, but he didn't win the state of AlaBAMA and he didn't win the SOUF."
(that's SOUTH for those of you who don't speak 'redneck')
Then he said, "I wish these democrats would move to the 'nourth' with the rest of dem' damn liberals."
You know what?
I agree with him!
And when we move, we should take all of these black football players from the university of Alabama, Auburn, Ole Miss, and the rest of the SEC with us.

You see, they love us as long as we're running up and down a football field, or dunking a basketball.
But the moment we step off the field and into the political arena, it's a problem.
That type of thinking is what led to the small-scale riot at Ole Miss.
It's time to kill these ghosts!
And the way to kill them is not by using violence (although I'm prepared if it comes to that).
No, the way to fight them is to use our power-political and, yes, athletically.
I wonder how these students would react if their 2012 football team resemblemed their 1962 team?
I wonder if that would get rid of 'The Ghosts of Ole Miss' once and for all.
Probably not, but it would be a start.

*disclaimer*
The majority of the universities in the SEC (Southeastern Conference) are no different than Ole Miss.