James Ferguson II, a Charlotte civil rights lawyer whose landmark cases desegregated schools nationwide died July 21, 2025 at 82. Ferguson, an Asheville native, was also a co-founder of North Carolina’s first interracial law firm. By Julia Coin and Maia Nehme

“There was an uproar from those who were opposed to the desegregation of the school, violent uproars. Students were armed, physically harmed, assaulted, simply for trying to go to school,” said Dr. Ben Chavis, a member of the Wilmington Ten.

Ferguson and Julius Chambers represented the Swann family in a landmark lawsuit against the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board. The case led school districts nationwide to begin busing students to integrate schools.