When African-American student James Meredith first arrived at the University of Mississippi in 1962, riots erupted by those who opposed his attending the school. Mississippi governor Ross Barnett called the president in an attempt to figure out what to do. Barnett wanted to remove Meredith from the campus, but Kennedy would not allow him to do so, insisting that the situation on campus was too volatile and that it would be dangerous to remove Meredith from the campus building where he was situated under the protection of security. "Mr. President, please," Barnett said. "Why don't you, can't get you give an order up there to remove Meredith?" "How can I remove him, Governor, when there's a riot in the street and he may step out of that building and have something happen to him?" Kennedy asked him. "I can't remove him under those conditions.... Let's get order up there, then we can do something about Meredith."
