It has been 40 years since Dr. Richard Holmes was the first black student to enroll at Mississippi State. Holmes, now a clinician at MSU’s Longest Student Health Center, will be recognized for his impact in integrating the school this afternoon in the John Grisham room.
Aretha Jones-Cook, director of the Holmes Cultural Diversity Center, which owes its namesake to Holmes, said the reception will involve faculty, IHL members, and local as well as state political figures.
“This is the 40th anniversary of his being the first African-American admission to Mississippi State University,” Cook said.
During the reception Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Jimmy Abraham, assistant to the president Melvin Ray and Vice President for Student Affairs Bill Kibler will make remarks. The remarks will be related to Holmes’s contributions since he has entered the university, as well as his personal and professional contributions since then, Cook said.
Al Rankin, president of the Council on Minority Affairs, will also offer remarks at the reception and present a scholarship. The council’s Emma Armstrong book scholarship will be presented in memory of a facilities scheduling coordinater at MSU who recently passed away, Rankin said.
“I’m honored to have the opportunity to participate in the festivities,” Rankin said.
Holmes has become part of the history of the university and the state. This reception will provide an opportunity for everyone to reflect on how much the campus and the state of Mississippi has improved in relation to diversity, Rankin said.
“What Dr. Holmes accomplished as a student took tremendous courage and resolve,” Rankin said.
Evidence of these improvements on campus can be seen in the percentage of black students, and this speaks volumes for the present state of race relations, Rankin said.
Holmes said he had no intentions of changing history or of even attending the university for more than a semester. He planned to return to Wiley College in Texas, which he had already attended for two years.
“When I applied here, my intentions were just to take summer courses,” Holmes said.
The university asked Holmes to return for the fall semester, and he decided to do so. He said the university and the faculty were willing and helpful to him during his years on campus. The student body, overall, treated him well, Holmes said, but there was a small number of people who spoke unkindly to him. There were no major problems though, he added.
Holmes said it was a struggle sometimes, because he felt isolated. Most of his friends were attending college somewhere else, and people at school couldn’t have an open friendship with him.
He said he has no regrets about attending MSU though.
Race relations in Starkville at the time were good compared to other areas of the state; the community served as an example to Mississippi.
“I never felt unsafe,” Holmes said.
Now, after returning to campus after many years of absence, Holmes has found a diverse campus. Blacks comprise about 18 percent of the student population, which shows that the university is actively recruiting black students, Holmes said.
Returning to the university has been a great honor, and Holmes feels it is an opportunity to give back to the community that was so giving when he was attending the university, he said.
The Holmes Cultural Diversity Center was named for Holmes in 1990 because of his courage and commitment. The center would not exist if not for Holmes attending the university, Cook said. The center now also represents other minority students as well as majority students.
“It’s no longer just a center for African-American students,” Cook said.
In looking back, Holmes said he finds it hard to believe it has been 40 years. He never realized he would make such a big impact, and he remembers the day he entered he had to give a statement to the press.
He laughed at this thought, because he said he had never done this before, and it was awkward.
“I didn’t set out to be an integrationist,” Holmes said.
The reception is by invitation only, but there will also be a concert featuring the Freddy Cole Quartet tonight at 7:30 p.m. in his honor (See related article, page 7). The concert is free for all MSU students and $5 for non-students.