Floyd McKissick

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Floyd B. McKissick was born in Asheville, North Carolina on March 9, 1922. He became the first black student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Law School. In 1966 he became leader of CORE, the Congress of Racial Equality, taking over from James Farmer. A supporter of Black Power, he turned CORE into a more radical movement. In 1968, McKissick left CORE to find Soul City in Warren County, North Carolina. He endorsed Richard Nixon for president that year, and the federal government, under President Nixon, supported Soul City. He became a state district court judge in 1990 and died on April 28, 1991. He was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African Americans.

Politician and attorney Floyd McKissick, Jr. is his son.

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