A predominantly white, male group at the University of Mississippi engaged in taunts towards pro-Palestinian protesters on campus this week, with one individual making a racist gesture towards a Black woman.
Meanwhile, dozens of students gathered at the University of Mississippi to protest against Israel’s war in Gaza and demand transparency regarding the university’s potential dealings with Israel.
Contrasting the few dozen pro-Palestinian protesters, there were hundreds of counter-protesters, reminiscent of resistance to the civil rights struggle in the US South six decades ago.
The counter-protesters, some waving American flags and Trump flags, sang the American national anthem at one point, drowning out the pro-Palestinian group’s chants. According to the Oxford Eagle, one person displayed a “Come and take it” flag while another held a “Don’t tread on me” banner.
In contrast, the pro-Palestinian students held signs reading “Jesus was a Palestinian,” “Stop the genocide,” and “Cut all ties with Israel.”
Less than an hour after the protest began, police disbanded it. Notably, this occurred after counter-protesters threw items, including water bottles, at the pro-Palestinian group. Police safely evacuated the pro-Palestinian students as the largely white, male group of counter-protesters chanted: “Nah, nah, nah, nah, hey, hey, hey, goodbye,” according to Mississippi Today.
Across the US, certain university leaders and politicians have resorted to labeling student-led protests and movements as the work of “outside agitators” in an attempt to discredit them. This term, reminiscent of its frequent use during the civil rights movement, antebellum slavery, and 19th- and 20th-century labor movements, suggests that protesters are not motivated by their own interests and beliefs, but rather by shadowy external influences.
During the counter-protest at the University of Mississippi, at least two individuals not affiliated with the school were reported to be present, according to the Clarion-Ledger. One counter-protester claimed to be a student at Mississippi State University, located about two hours away, who drove in for the protest. Another individual stated to the publication that he was a student at the University of Georgia.
Despite no arrests being made, the actions of the counter-protesters have stirred controversy. They were reported to have shouted various phrases including “Fuck Joe Biden”, “Who’s your daddy?”, “USA”, “Hit the showers”, and “Your nose is huge”. Additionally, one disturbing instance involved a white man making monkey noises at a Black woman. These actions have faced widespread condemnation on social media.
Phi Delta Theta fraternity responded to the protest on Sunday, acknowledging a video depicting the actions of one counter-protester. They announced the removal of this individual from membership as of May 3rd.
In their statement, the fraternity expressed that the racist actions depicted in the video do not align with the values of Phi Delta Theta and the Mississippi Alpha chapter.
Meanwhile, the University of Mississippi’s chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) criticized the actions of the counter-protesters in a statement shared on Instagram.
“The behavior witnessed today was not only abhorrent but also entirely unacceptable,” the statement reads. “It is deeply disheartening to witness such blatant disregard for the principles of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.”
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves, who recently declared April as Confederate Heritage Month and April 29 as Confederate Memorial Day, celebrated the actions of the counter-protesters in a tweet. Some observers noted parallels to former Mississippi Governor Ross Barnett, a proud segregationist.
Reeves captioned a video of the counter-protesters singing the American national anthem with “the ‘protests’ at Ole Miss today. Watch with sound. Warms my heart. I love Mississippi!”
At the University of Mississippi football game against Kentucky in September 1962, Barnett addressed an all-white crowd exceeding 40,000 people. Against a backdrop of Confederate flags, Barnett expressed affection for Mississippi, its people, customs, and heritage. The following day, an uprising occurred on campus as James Meredith enrolled, becoming the university’s first documented Black student.
Before the protest, Reeves took to Twitter, echoing a statement made by Joe Biden earlier that morning. “Campus police, city, county, and state assets are being deployed and coordinated,” Reeves tweeted. “We will offer a unified response with one mission: peaceful protests are allowed and protected – no matter how outrageous those protesters’ views may seem to some of us. But unlawful behavior will not be tolerated. It will be dealt with accordingly. Law and order will be maintained!”
In his remarks addressing the nationwide protests, Biden emphasized two core American principles. He stated, “We’ve all seen images, and they put to the test two fundamental American principles … The first is the right to free speech and for people to peacefully assemble and make their voices heard. The second is the rule of law. Both must be upheld.”
UMiss for Palestine, the student group behind the protest, did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
However, they did release a statement on Instagram after the protest, expressing their dissatisfaction with the University of Mississippi’s hosting of a conference involving US military officials whom they accuse of complicity in the genocide of Palestinian people.
The statement reads, “Our vocal protest outside the library was a peaceful demonstration of our dismay with the behavior of the university. We were confronted by counter-protesters who engaged in blind reactionarism that had little to do with the genocide we were protesting as well as our demands. We condemn the hateful actions and rhetoric of the counter-protesters, who threw food and made violent threats toward our protesters. We expected our first amendment rights to be better protected and were deeply ashamed that they were not.”
The Daily Mississippian, the University of Mississippi’s student newspaper, interviewed students expressing support for UMiss for Palestine’s actions. Junior Xavier Black shared his perspective, stating, “There’s a lot of dissension towards this kind of movement.
But as we’ve seen throughout history, time and time again, the student movement is never wrong. Time and time again, anytime there’s a student protest, and you’re against it, you’re on the wrong side of history. So I would like to be on the right side.”
