Mississippi State University is permanently honoring its first Black student with an on-campus monument.
University officials held a ceremonial ribbon cutting Aug. 21 to unveil the special landmark enshrining Dr. Richard Holmes’ name on the school’s grounds. The monument is in the school’s former YMCA plaza, and the student-focused mall has been named after Holmes.
Holmes was born in Chicago and raised in the Starkville area. He integrated Mississippi State on July 19, 1965, as part of an initiative to desegregate colleges in the Magnolia State following the 1964 passage of the Civil Rights Act.
After graduating from Mississippi State and going through medical school at Michigan State, Holmes went on to be a physician who served communities and families in Alabama, Mississippi, and in Mississippi State’s Longest Health Center for three decades.
“Holmes Plaza and the monument we are dedicating today ensures that Dr. Holmes’ story is always remembered on our campus. And what an incredible story it is,” Mississippi State President Dr. Mark Keenum said. “He was a true pioneer and courageous trailblazer when he became Mississippi State’s first African American student on July 19, 1965.”
