A pioneering civil rights attorney will be honored with a historical marker in his hometown later this month.
The dedication ceremony for James R. Walker Jr., one of the first Black people to graduate from any school at UNC-Chapel Hill and the first Black member of the university’s Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies, will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, February 22 at New Ahoskie Missionary Baptist Church at 401 West Hayes Street.
State Representative Rodney D. Pierce, who represents Halifax, Northampton, and Warren counties in House District 27, applied for the marker in October 2023.
Aside from his role as a legislator, Pierce is an award-winning educator and historian who specializes in researching the Black history of what he calls Neglected Northeastern North Carolina.
“It’s only right that we dedicate Walker’s marker as we celebrate Black History Month,” Pierce said.
A veteran of World War II, Walker earned an undergraduate degree from N.C. Central University before enrolling in its law school.
He’d withdraw to attend Boston University School of Law, and later leave to enroll at the UNC School of Law following its desegregation through the McKissick v. Carmichael lawsuit.
While attending UNC, Walker led efforts to desegregate the student section at Kenan Stadium and the law school’s social dances. He earned his law degree in 1952.
After graduation, he embarked on a career as a civil rights attorney in the state’s northeast region. Walker was president of the Eastern Council on Community Affairs, a grassroots organization that advocated for Black representation in local and state governing bodies and opposed school segregation in Halifax and Warren counties.
He unsuccessfully challenged the state’s prohibition on single shot voting in Walker v. Moss (1957). Walker helped author the legal brief in the USSC case Lassiter v. Northampton County Board of Elections (1959) and won as the lead attorney in the state Supreme Court case Bazemore v. Bertie County Board of Elections (1961) when he proved White registrars were discriminating against Black voters in how they administered the state’s literacy test during voter registration. He later served as co-counsel in the United States Supreme Court school desegregation case U.S. v. Scotland Neck City Board of Education (1972).
Walker received the state NAACP’s Distinguished Service Award for his efforts in civil rights. In 1961, he was the keynote speaker for the National Lawyers Guild in Detroit, Michigan, and in 1978, was named Lawyer of the Year by the same organization.
“The Highway Historical Marker Program is pleased to announce that James Walker Jr. will receive a historical marker in his hometown of Ahoskie,” Program Administrator Leslie Leonard said in a statement. “It is important to recognize the importance of grassroots civil rights work in North Carolina.”
In addition to Walker’s two daughters, Patricia Youmans and Lavone Hicks, being in attendance, Pierce notes the program will feature a prominent slate of speakers. “They’re history makers in their own right,” he said.
Program participants include:
Congressman Donald G. Davis,
Anita Earls, the third Black woman to serve as a NC State Supreme Court Associate Justice
State Representative William “Bill” Ward III for House District 5
Pierce, state representative for House District 27
Superior Court Judge Cy Grant — Judicial District 7B — and the first Black Senior Resident Superior Court Judge in state history
Superior Court Judge Brenda Branch — Judicial District 7A
District Court Judge William Rob Lewis II — Judicial District 7
District Court Judge Takiya Lewis Blalock — Judicial District 7 — who is the daughter of Judge Lewis
District Attorney Kim Gourrier Scott — Seventh Prosecutorial District — who is the first Black woman to serve in that role in the history of the 7th Prosecutorial District
Chief Public Defender Tonza Ruffin — Judicial District 7
Andre Lassiter, chairman of the Hertford County Commissioners
Ahoskie Mayor Weyling White, the first Black mayor of the town
Attorney James Williams, former board member of the NC Association of Black Lawyers Historian David Cecelski
