Dozens of students at the University of Mississippi gathered this week to protest Israel’s war in Gaza and call on the state’s flagship university to be transparent in potential deals with Israel.
In stark contrast to the dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters, there were hundreds of counter-protesters. The scene evoked memories of resistance to the civil rights struggle in the American South sixty years ago.
Counter-protesters included people waving American and Trump flags. At one point they sang the U.S. national anthem, drowning out slogans from pro-Palestinian groups. The Oxford Eagle reported that one person held a “Come and Get It” flag, while another held a “Don’t Tread on Me” banner. Pro-Palestinian students held signs that read “Jesus is Palestinian,” “Stop genocide” and “Cut all ties with Israel.”
Police broke up the protest less than an hour after it began – particularly after counter-protesters threw water bottles and other objects at pro-Palestinian groups. Police safely evacuated the pro-Palestinian students, while counter-protesters, mostly white men, chanted “No, no, no, no, hey, hey, hey, bye,” Mississippi Today reported.
Some university leaders and politicians in the United States have used the term “outside agitators” to try to discredit student-led protests and movements. The label was also frequently used in the context of the civil rights movement, antebellum slavery, and the labor movement of the 19th and 20th centuries, and suggested that protesters were motivated not by their own interests and beliefs, but by those of others drive.
According to the Clarion-Ledger, at least two people on campus during the counter-protest at the University of Mississippi were not affiliated with the school. One counterprotester claimed he was a student at Mississippi State University, about two hours away from the university, and had driven to attend the protest. Another told the publication that he was a student at the University of Georgia.
No arrests were made, but the actions of counter-protesters – who chanted “Fuck Joe Biden,” “Who’s your daddy?” “U.S.A.,” “Go take a shower,” “You have a big nose,” and , one example of which included a white man make monkey noises The attack on a black woman – was widely condemned on social media.
The University of Mississippi’s NAACP chapter criticized the counter-protesters in a statement posted on Instagram.
“The behavior witnessed today was not only abhorrent, but completely unacceptable,” the statement read. “It is deeply disheartening to witness such a blatant disregard for the principles of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.”
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, who recently proclaimed April as Confederate Heritage Month and designated April 29 as Confederate Memorial Day, congratulated counter-protesters in a tweet. said the tweet was similar to former Mississippi Gov. Ross Barnett, a proud segregationist.
reeves Add a title to your video Counterprotesters sing the U.S. national anthem during today’s ‘protest’ at the University of Mississippi. Watch with sound. Warms my heart. I love Mississippi!
In September 1962, Barnett addressed a crowd of more than 40,000 white people at the University of Mississippi’s football game against the University of Kentucky. As the Confederate flag flew, Barnett said, “I love Mississippi. I love her people. Our customs. I love and respect our traditions.” The next day, James Meredith was on campus as he enrolled An uprising took place, becoming the first known black student in the university’s history.
In another tweet before the protest, Governor Reeves also responded to a statement made by Joe Biden the morning of the protest.
“Campus police, city, county and state assets are being deployed and coordinated,” Reeves tweeted. “We will provide a unified response with one mission: to allow and protect peaceful protest – no matter how outrageous those protesters’ views may be to some of us. But illegal behavior will not be tolerated. Law and order will be maintained!
“We have all seen images that test two fundamental principles of America… the first is the right to free speech and the right of people to peacefully assemble and make their voices heard,” Biden said in a statement about protests across the country. The second is the rule of law. Both must be adhered to.
The student group Miss Palestine University, which organized the protest, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The group did release a statement on Instagram after the protest, saying the University of Mississippi “is hosting U.S. military officials involved in the genocide of the Palestinian people through an aerospace and defense conference.”
“Our loud protest outside the library was a peaceful expression of our disappointment with the University’s actions,” the statement continued.
“We were met by counter-protesters who engaged in blind reactionism that had nothing to do with the genocide we were protesting against and our demands. We condemn the hateful actions and rhetoric of counter-protesters who threw food at our protesters and treated them with Making threats of violence. We expected that our First Amendment rights would be better protected, but we deeply regret that this is not the case.
The Daily Mississippian, the University of Mississippi’s student newspaper, spoke with students supporting the University of Mississippi’s efforts in Palestine. “There’s a lot of controversy about this sport,” said a junior named Xavier Black.
“But as we have seen time and time again in history, student movements are never wrong,” he told the newspaper. “Time and again, every time there’s a student protest, if you oppose it, you’re on the wrong side of history. So I want to be on the right side.
