When longtime former Fullerton teacher Donna Judd attended the University of Mississippi in the fall of 1962, she was a 17-year-old freshman eager to begin college life. Instead, she witnessed one of the most explosive events of the American civil rights era. Her new memoir, Race, Riot, and Romance: A Coed’s Diary of James Meredith and the 1962 Ole Miss Riot, tells that story through the diary she kept at the time, supplemented by historical background and reflections written more than 60 years later.

The arrival of James Meredith, a 29-year-old Black veteran, was met with violent resistance, bringing over 30,000 federal marshals and troops to the campus. Two people were killed during the unrest, and more than 300 were hospitalized. Excerpt from diary, September 30, 1962. “Suddenly, the marshals started shooting tear gas at us! …I took off for the “Y” building with tear gas canisters hitting like bombs all around me.”

Donna’s diary captured both the frightening events outside and the everyday concerns of a teenage college student. That contrast gives the book its title. Alongside entries about race, politics, and campus turmoil are accounts of classes, friendships, dances, and romance. As the only Meredith supporter in her dormitory of 98 young women, Judd sometimes faced harassment.  When she said “thank you” to Meredith for holding the door for her, Judd’s roommate refused to speak to her for a week.  Three seniors cornered her, yelling, and insisting she should instead have said, “Gee, I didn’t know we had N-word doormen at Ole Miss.” Judd’s views gained wider attention when a letter she wrote in support of Meredith was published in Newsweek. Meredith also saved a letter Judd had written him and published it in his book, although for safety reasons, he did not publish her last name.

In 2022, Judd saw a Los Angeles Times article marking the 60th anniversary of the Ole Miss riot. For decades, she had wondered how Meredith was doing and wanted to contact him, but she had never known how to reach him. With the help of the internet, she was finally able to reconnect. Her letter brought a response from Meredith’s publicist, followed the next day by a phone call from Dr. Judy Meredith, James Meredith’s wife. During that conversation, Judy asked Judd to read portions of the diary she had kept during the riot. She then encouraged Judd to copyright the diary and turn it into a book.

“Without Judy’s continued support and the excellent OLLI class, Write, Then Edit, led by Fritz von Coelln, I would never have finished the four-year project,” Judd said.

A highlight came in 2023 when Judd returned to Ole Miss for the first time in more than 60 years and spent three days with James and Judy Meredith. As she writes in the book, “our final breakfast together was a 2-hour gabfest. At one point, Meredith leaned towards me, nudged me on the shoulder, and whispered, ‘I remember that smile.’”

Donna continues to enjoy a warm relationship with the Merediths. “I’m very happy that I was able to complete the book for James to enjoy.”

James Meredith celebrated his 93rd birthday on June 25, 2026.

After leaving Mississippi, Judd graduated cum laude from the University of Idaho with a degree in English. She taught at Ladera Vista Junior High in Fullerton for 34 years and coached varsity tennis at Troy High School for 23 years. Since retirement, she has continued to pursue her longtime interests in writing, photography, and travel, having visited 83 countries.

Race, Riot, and Romance is both a coming-of-age memoir and an eyewitness account of a defining moment in American history. Through one freshman’s diary, Judd invites readers to experience the Ole Miss crisis from inside a dormitory, a classroom, and a campus divided by fear and resistance. James Meredith wrote the foreword to the book.

The book is available in paperback and Kindle editions through Amazon