James Meredith

James Meredith is famous for integrating the University of Mississippi in 1962. But he was always seen as an odd duck by other members of the civil rights movement. He wasn't really affiliated with any particular group. Instead, he just sort of did random things. His March Against Fear in 1966 was totally unorganized. He just decided to start walking down rural Mississippi roads. He was shot and wounded which forced the movement to hold mass events to denounce violence African-Americans faced in Mississippi. Having a few people like this in your movement is probably a good thing.

But Meredith was always strange. By 1968, he left the movement completely and became a stockbroker. Whatever. But I just found out that he later became a Republican and even worked as a staffer for Jesse Helms!!!!

How very very strange.