Activist and civil rights icon James Meredith will be joined by Vicksburg Mayor George Flaggs Jr. in the final leg of Meredith’s Walk Against Crime on Friday at 5:30 p.m. at Washington Street Park in downtown Vicksburg.

Meredith put his life on the line when he integrated the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) in 1962. In 1966, he was shot in Hernando during his 220-mile Meredith Walk Against Fear, a statewide attempt by him to influence Black voter registration despite widespread intimidation and terrorism by white supremacists.

The event is open to the public and speeches are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.