Lee, J. Kenneth (John Kenneth), 1923-2018

J. Kenneth Lee; born 1923, died July 22, 2018; lawyer, businessman, and civil rights legend; joined four other black men in a lawsuit that led to the desegregation of the UNC School of Law

J. Kenneth Lee was born in Charlotte, N.C., on 1 November 1923, the thirteenth of fourteen children. Lee was graduated from Capital Highway High School in Hamlet, N.C., in 1941 with highest honors. He was graduated from North Carolina A & T with a degree in Electrical Engineering in 1945. He also served as electrician's mate, second class, in the Navy during World War II.

Lee became one of the first two African Americans to attend the University of North at Chapel Hill when he and Harvey Beech were admitted in June 1951 after a lengthy lawsuit and appeal against the University. They also were the first African American graduates from UNC when they received their Juris Doctoris degrees (formerly LL.B.) in 1952.

Lee was involved in over 1,700 civil rights lawsuits during his 38 years of legal practice. He was also founder, president, and chairman of American Federal Savings & Loan, the second African American-owned thrift in the state. Lee has served on the Barber Scotia College Board of Trustees and as a member of the North Carolina Banking Commission, the Minority Business Enterprise Advisory Board, the Commission on Human Relations (Greensboro, N.C.), and the National Bar Association Hall of Fame, among other public service and honorary positions.