AHOSKIE – 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 Feb. 22 at New Ahoskie Missionary Baptist Church, at 401 West Hayes Street in Ahoskie.

Walker is the father of LaVone Hicks of Hicks & Associates of Goldsboro. Hicks is known locally as “The Medicare Lady.”

State Representative Rodney D. Pierce, who represents Halifax, Northampton, and Warren counties in House District 27, applied for the marker in Oct. 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.

Walker withdrew to attend Boston University School of Law, and later left 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.

Walker earned his law degree in 1952.

After graduation, Walker 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:

The Honorable Donald G. Davis, U.S. Representative (First Congressional District of NC – Tentative)

The Honorable Anita Earls, the third Black woman to serve as a NC State Supreme Court Associate Justice

The Honorable William “Bill” Ward III, State Representative for House District 5

The Honorable Rodney D. Pierce, State Representative for House District 27

The Honorable Cy Grant, Superior Court Judge (Judicial District 7B), first Black Senior Resident Superior Court Judge in state history

The Honorable Brenda Branch, Superior Court Judge (Judicial District 7A)

The Honorable William Rob Lewis II, District Court Judge (Judicial District 7)

The Honorable Takiya Lewis Blalock, District Court Judge (Judicial District 7) Blalock is the daughter of Lewis, and they are the first father-daughter duo to serve as District Court judges in the same district at the same time in state history

The Honorable Kim Gourrier Scott, District Attorney (Seventh Prosecutorial District), first Black woman to serve in that role in the history of the 7th Prosecutorial District

The Honorable Tonza Ruffin, Chief Public Defender (Judicial District 7), first Black person and woman to serve in that role

The Honorable Andre Lassiter, Chairman, Hertford County Commissioners

The Honorable Weyling White, Mayor of Ahoskie, first Black mayor of Ahoskie

Attorney James Williams, former board member of the NC Association of Black Lawyers

Historian David Cecelski