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African American Heritage Commission of Lenoir County

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Kinston, NC
African American Heritage Commission of Lenoir County

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To transform and enrich people and communities by sharing North Carolina’s African American history, arts, and culture.

11/09/2026

A Wealthy Man

11/09/2026

Worthy of Knowing
Abraham Lincoln
The Moores

11/08/2026

Frink Alumni Cultural Center,
A great place for all occasions

11/08/2026

Great invention, Worth Listening

11/08/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/14upXf9QauR/

In the summer of 1951, Harvey Beech was handed a swimming pool card at the University of North Carolina. Then the university asked him to give it back. 🏊

Only white students were supposed to receive those cards. Beech refused to return his. He was a barber's son from Mount Gilead who had trained as a barber, as his father hoped, before going to Morehouse College and graduating in 1944. Then he began studying law at North Carolina College in Durham.

The path to Chapel Hill ran through the courts. On October 9, 1950, a federal district court ruled against the Black law students. On March 27, 1951, the Fourth Circuit reversed that decision and found the separate law school at North Carolina College clearly inferior to UNC's. On June 4, the U.S. Supreme Court denied the university's request to hear the case. ⚖️ Eighteen days later, on June 22, 1951, five Black students began summer classes at the UNC law school: Beech, James Lassiter, J. Kenneth Lee, Floyd McKissick and James Robert Walker.

Beech graduated in June 1952 and went on to practice law in Kinston for more than 35 years. Asked about taking the step, he said: "I just felt like we ought to open up all the windows and doors and air it all out."

A pool card is a small thing. Which part of this story do you think took the most nerve: the lawsuit, the first day of class, or the card he would not hand back?

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Kinston, NC
28501

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+12522751368

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