Just caught Wright Thompson’s “Ghosts of Ole Miss” on ESPN. The film documents the integration of Ole Miss by James Meredith in September 1962, an event some consider as the last battle of the Civil War.

As it turns out, I was a student at University High School in Oxford on that fateful night, but slept through the whole thing (as did James Meredith).

Native Mississippian and Oxford resident Thompson did a brilliant job of capturing the social climate that led to the riot as well as the long period of rebuilding and redemption. It’s hard for me to explain what Mississippi was like in 1962 and how far we’ve come: We now have, for example, a black homecoming queen and student body president (both elected by the students).

The film also honored the 1962 Ole Miss Rebels, who went undefeated that fall and whose success played not a small role in helping the university recover.

I have three degrees from Ole Miss and would not hesitate to recommend the school to anyone.

Read an interview with Wright Thompson about “Ghosts of Ole Miss.”