Memorial program, bench dedication scheduled April 17
OXFORD,
Miss. – French reporter Paul Guihard, a casualty of civil rights riots
at the University of Mississippi in 1962, is being honored with a
campus memorial by UM’s chapter of the Society of Professional
Journalists.
A bench is to be dedicated Friday (April 17) in
memory of Guihard, a reporter for Agence France-Presse who was killed
during campus unrest surrounding James Meredith’s enrollment.
The program begins at 9 a.m. in Farley Hall, Room 202, with a speech by
Hank Klibanoff, author of “The Race Beat” (with Gene Roberts). The
official unveiling and dedication is set for 10 a.m. at the bench,
sited in a landscaped area between Farley Hall and Sorority Row.
At noon, Sidna Brower Mitchell, editor of The Daily Mississippian student newspaper in 1962, will speak in Farley Hall, Room 125. Mitchell was censured by the student Senate after calling for the riots to end.
“There is a natural connection between SPJ’s commitment to the First Amendment and Guihard’s sacrifice,” said Kathleen Wickham, associate professor of journalism and SPJ adviser. “Guihard gave his life to report the news in order that others might learn from what was occurring on campus that night. SPJ supports press freedom as an important component of democracy.”
The memorial project was funded by a national SPJ grant and other funds made available through UM’s Division of University Relations.
The dedication date was chosen because the day marks the 100th anniversary of SPJ, the nation’s largest professional journalism organization.
For more information, contact Kathleen Wickham at kwickham@olemiss.edu or 662-915-5501. For assistance related to a disability, call 662-915-7146.