James Meredith chose Oak Chapel Missionary Baptist Church to debut the speech he said he plans to repeat in each of Mississippi’s 82 counties during the next two years.

The idea behind it is that every black child should know how to read and write proper English by age 6.

“It’s so simple. Most blacks just cast it aside. They think it’s so big, that it must be complex. Most big things are simple,” Meredith said.

Meredith, 71, is best known for being the first black student to attend and graduate from the University of Mississippi. He spoke on the occasion of the Freetown church’s annual black history program. February is Black History Month.

Meredith integrated the university on Sept. 20, 1962, and clashes between federal troops and rioters followed, leaving two people dead, 28 U.S. marshals shot and 160 injured.

An Air Force veteran before enrolling at Ole Miss, Meredith graduated from the university in 1963. He received a law degree from Columbia University in 1968. Meredith led several marches in the 1960s to call attention to racism in the South and also in states from Illinois to New York. He was shot by a sniper and wounded while walking from Memphis to Jackson in the “Walk Against Fear.”

In 1996, he repeated his walk from Memphis to Jackson to encourage blacks to go to the library. A year later, he opened the Meredith Institute to teach blacks proper English.

Meredith also ran to represent Mississippi in Congress several times as a Republican and later served on the staff of Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C.

In a 10-minute speech, Meredith spoke about “making Mississippi No. 1” and laid out a step-by-step plan to achieve his goal.

“I’m glad people are proud of what I’ve done already, but if we do this, Mississippi will be No. 1 in America … Everybody always thought I wanted to be equal. I always wanted to be on top. Why would I just want to be equal?” Meredith asked.

By ages 2 to 3, children should learn the alphabet and be able to count to 10. By ages 3 to 4, children should know how to count to 100, add and subtract one and two and know all two-letter words.

“There are only 17,” Meredith said of the last recommendation. “Anybody who doesn’t know them will always have trouble with the English language,” he said.

By ages 4 to 5, children should know all three-letter words.

“It’s only a paragraph about that long,” Meredith said, holding his fingers an inch apart.

Children at those ages should also know how to form complete sentences, odd and even numbers and be able to count by twos.

During the fifth and sixth years, children should be able to read beginning reading books and know more words, Meredith said.

With a mastery of simple words, Meredith said, the rest of language should come easily because most longer words come from the shorter words.

“I know every home has a Bible. Every home needs a children’s dictionary,” Meredith said.

He said older people should mentor young people.

“We have failed as (elderly citizens) to teach people everything we know,” he said.

Oak Chapel Pastor Dellie C. Robinson, a 26-year educator and coach of the Vicksburg High School men’s basketball team, agreed with Meredith’s message.

“In America, you must be educated to make it, especially if you are black,” Robinson said.