James Meredith was a civil rights activist who had applied to the University of Mississippi in 1961, only to be rejected because of his race. The NAACP filed suit against the university in federal court, which granted Meredith the right to enroll. When he arrived he was halted by authorities and governor of Mississippi. A court injunction prevented authorities from stopping Meredith, but they were only replaced by a white mob. This resulted in a riot which left 375 people wounded and two dead. Kennedy then sent 3,000 troops to Mississippi so that Meredith could finally register as a student.