Richard E. Holmes

Richard E. Holmes (born February 17, 1944) is an American medical doctor who specialized in emergency department medicine.

He was one of five black Mississippians who pioneered the effort to desegregate the major state universities of Mississippi as part of the Civil Rights Movement.

"[1][2] Mrs. Hunter promoted education, hard work, honesty, and religion for the boys, teaching them that "being poor and black was no reason for failure.

Conner became Holmes' godfather and life mentor, encouraging the youth to stay in school and study hard.

[1][2] When Holmes graduated in 1963 from Starkville's black-only Henderson High School,[1] Dr. Conner sent him to Wiley College.

Holmes was influenced by mentors who exemplified the philosophy of persistent but conservative, gradual expansion of civil rights, along with the need for racial reconciliation.

He likely had some concern for his safety considering the violence that had greeted Clyde Kennard (imprisoned on false grounds and dying) and James Meredith (placed in danger of his life during riots) when they attempted to integrate Mississippi universities.

White segregationists erupted into riots on the campus of the University of Mississippi in 1963 when a federal court ordered that James Meredith be admitted.

Governor Ross Barnett had gained political points in the state for his refusal to concede, and President John F. Kennedy authorized National Guard troops to quell the rioting and protect Meredith.

The NAACP had sponsored such efforts before; two months later they supported the enrollments of Raylawni Branch and Gwendolyn Elaine Armstrong at the University of Southern Mississippi.

In 1963, Dr. Colvard had been courageous enough to send his regional champion basketball team to the integrated NCAA championships, rejecting the desire by the white state political establishment to keep them out of the games because of racial issue.

[2][3][5] The university arranged for Holmes to have a twin-bed room in the new and (comparatively) luxurious Evans Hall residence facility, normally reserved for graduate students.

Students at MSU were reluctant to have an open friendship with him because of the lingering pressure of Mississippi "closed society" norms.

Needing an income, Holmes left full-time student status in 1967 to teach school nearby in Alabama.

[1][2] Holmes was recruited to Mississippi State in 2003 by Dr. Robert Collins to serve on the John C. Longest Student Health Center as a staff physician.