It can be argued that the seeds of the current Princeton Prize In Race Relations were sewn in the early 1960s by the efforts of John F. Kennedy ’39, John Doar ’44, and Nicholas Katzenbach ’43 to ensure the desegregation of Southern universities. Few remember the risks, personal and political, that these individuals took to do the right thing. In September 1962, James Meredith was refused admission to the University of Mississippi. On Oct. 2, 1962, John Doar, acting at the direction of President Kennedy, confronted Gov. Ross Barnett to admit Meredith to the university. Ultimately, JFK sent in the National Guard. Violence ensued and two people died in the subsequent confrontation, but Meredith was admitted.

On June 11, 1963, Nicholas Katzenbach, under orders from JFK, accompanied Vivian Malone and James Hood and stood eyeball to eyeball with George Wallace at the entrance of the Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama. Again, resistance was encountered; Kennedy federalized the Alabama National Guard to enforce his order, and Malone and Hood gained admission.

On June 12, 1963, Medgar Evers was assassinated in Mississippi, and rioting erupted. John Doar returned to Mississippi, and his intervention was critical to restoring calm to the situation. When Doar arrived in Jackson, he shouted, “My name is John Doar, D-O-A-R, I’m from the Justice Department, and anybody here knows I stand for what is right.”

It has been almost 50 years since these Princetonians helped desegregate higher education in the South. The young men and women who receive the Princeton awards in race relations this year are the rightful heirs of this rich legacy made possible, in large measure, by Princetonians.

Kevin R. Loughlin ’71