North Carolina Council on Human Relations

The North Carolina Council on Human Relations (NCCHR) was one of twelve state organizations affiliated with the Southern Regional Council (SRC). An interracial organization, it sought, from 1954 until 1969, to solve racial problems in North Carolina through research and communication.

The North Carolina Council on Human Relations (NCCHR) was one of twelve state organizations affiliated with the Southern Regional Council (SRC), successor to the Commission on Interracial Cooperation, which became active in 1919. The SRC's board membership transcended boundaries of major religious faiths and included both blacks and whites. Other states with organizations similar to NCCHR included Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, and Virginia.

The stated assumption of the North Carolina Council was that the people of North Carolina had enough good will and commitment to democratic and religious ideals to solve their human relations problems. Toward this end, the NCCHR endeavored to establish communications across racial lines, to study racial problems in local communities, and to work out solutions through peaceful evolution.

The NCCHR carried forward the work of the North Carolina Commission on Interracial Cooperation. Begun in 1921, the North Carolina Commission existed as a private organization chartered by the state, with governors serving as honorary chairs. In 1951, the organization became a state division of the Southern Regional Council, but was relatively inactive in the early 1950s. In 1954, in response to the Brown decision, members revived the organization, changed its name, employed Harry S. Jones as executive secretary, and embarked on a new program. The new charter and by-laws became official on 6 January 1955.

A native of Paris, Mo., Harry S. Jones served as executive secretary for nine years, until his death in 1963. Following Jones's death, Helen Adams, who later married and became Helen Adams Furman, served as the second executive director from 1964 to 1965. Furman was a native of Birmingham, Ala. Will C. Allred Jr., was executive director from 1966 until the Council closed its doors in 1969.