Page "United States Marshals Service" Paragraph 19

The Marshals were on the front lines of the civil rights movement in the 1960s, mainly providing protection to volunteers.

In September 1962, President John F. Kennedy ordered 127 marshals to accompany James Meredith, an African American who wished to register at the segregated University of Mississippi.

Their presence on campus provoked riots at the university, requiring President Kennedy to federalize the Mississippi National Guard to pacify the crowd, but the marshals stood their ground, and Meredith registered.

Marshals provided continuous protection to Meredith during his first year at " Ole Miss ", and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy later proudly displayed a Marshal's dented helmet in his office.

U. S. Marshals also protected black schoolchildren integrating public schools in the South.

Artist Norman Rockwell's famous painting The Problem We All Live With depicted a tiny Ruby Bridges being escorted by four towering U. S. marshals in 1964.