Skip to content
Orange County Public Library (opens the library’s website in a new tab)

Figure in a named event

James L. Cates Jr.

James L. Cates Jr., a young Black man who grew up in Chapel Hill, was killed on the UNC campus early on November 21, 1970. He had gone to an all-night dance meant to improve race relations, and was stabbed in a racially motivated fight there.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division: James Cates

Also found in catalogs as James L. Cates.

1 work about James L. Cates Jr. is indexed here.

Search this work Research sources View indexed works ↓

Life and Orange County connections

Storylines this person is part of, in date order. Each has its own page.

StorylineKilling of James Cates, 19701970–2025 · 27 events · James Cates, a Black Chapel Hill man, was stabbed to death in the Pit at UNC in November 1970, and three Durham men were tried and acquitted by an all-white jury in 1971. Memorial marches followed, a remembrance coalition formed, the Justice Department opened a cold-case investigation in 2022, and UNC dedicated a memorial to him in the Pit that year.

Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 15 dated events in the chronology →

  1. Durham motorcycle gang member charged with murder in the Cates stabbing Durham County officers arrested a 28-year-old member of the Durham Storm Troopers motorcycle gang at Watts Hospital early on the morning of the stabbing, and he was charged with murder and held without bond in the Orange County Jail. By November 24 four white men were in jail and a second Durham man faced an assault charge. People: James L. Cates Jr. Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: James Lewis Cates Jr. · Also mentions: Orange County Jail, Watts HospitalThe Daily Tar Heel, November 22, 1970, p. 1
  2. James Cates is killed outside the UNC Student Union James Lewis Cates Jr., 22, a Black Chapel Hill resident, was stabbed outside the UNC Student Union shortly before 2 a.m. during an all-night dance, in a clash with members of Durham's Storm Troopers motorcycle gang, and died at North Carolina Memorial Hospital. Three white men charged in his death were acquitted by an all-white jury in 1971. People: James L. Cates Jr. Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: James Lewis Cates Jr. · Also mentions: North Carolina Memorial HospitalThe Daily Tar Heel, November 22, 1970, p. 1
  3. UNC opens an inquiry into the killing of James Cates after a group of young men press its leaders On the Sunday after the killing a group of young men went to President William Friday's home to raise concerns about Cates's death and the university's handling of it, and they met other administrators on November 23. The university then opened an investigation, and its six-page report was dated December 10, 1970. People: William C. Friday Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division: James Cates, Notice to Close File, p. 8 · Also: The Daily Tar Heel, December 1, 1970, p. 1
  4. Mayor Howard Lee leads a memorial march for James Cates About 65 people joined a memorial march for James Cates led by Mayor Howard Lee and Alderman R. D. Smith, four days after the killing. People: Howard N. Lee, R. D. Smith, James L. Cates Jr. Place: Chapel HillThe Daily Tar Heel, December 1, 1970, p. 1
  5. Trial of three Storm Troopers for the death of James Cates opens Three Durham men went on trial in Orange County Superior Court in Hillsborough before Judge Thomas Cooper on second-degree murder charges, reduced from first degree. District Solicitor Herbert Pierce prosecuted, and prosecution witnesses placed the three defendants around Cates with weapons. People: James L. Cates Jr. Place: Hillsborough · Also named: Thomas Cooper, Herbert PierceThe Daily Tar Heel, March 25, 1971, p. 1 (text)
  6. All-white jury acquits three men in the killing of James Cates A jury of 11 men and one woman, all white, found the three men not guilty after about an hour and a half of deliberation. The defense called no witnesses. People: James L. Cates Jr. Place: HillsboroughThe Daily Tar Heel, March 26, 1971, p. 1
  7. Black Student Movement holds a first-anniversary memorial for James Cates The Black Student Movement and the Afro-American Society of Chapel Hill High School gathered at noon at the Confederate Monument and marched across campus to the Pit in memory of Cates. The service also protested the killing of William Murphy by a highway patrolman in Ayden. People: James L. Cates Jr. Place: Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Chapel Hill High SchoolThe Daily Tar Heel, November 19, 1971, p. 1
  8. Black Student Movement march remembers James Cates On the afternoon of Monday, November 19, 1973, more than 150 Black students marched from Silent Sam down Franklin and Columbia streets and across campus to the Great Hall of the Union for a Black Student Movement memorial to James Cates, killed in the Pit three years before; BSM chairman Willie Mebane led the march, the Daily Tar Heel reported. Les Todd photographed a BSM march in memory of Cates that year, and his print is now held in the North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives at Wilson Library. People: James L. Cates Jr. Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: Les Todd, Willie Mebane · Also mentions: Great Hall, Franklin and Columbia streets, Silent Sam, Wilson LibraryUNC Libraries finding aid: Les Todd Photograph Collection, Black March (BSM; James Cates Memorial), 1973 · Also: The Daily Tar Heel, November 20, 1973, p. 1
  9. Family and community march to remember James Cates on the 50th anniversary A candlelit march went from Hargraves Community Center to St. Joseph CME Church and down Franklin Street to Peace and Justice Plaza, where the Town of Chapel Hill invited residents to leave flowers and messages for the Cates family. Mayor Pam Hemminger pledged to work with the family and UNC to investigate the killing. People: Danita Mason-Hogans, James L. Cates Jr., Pam Hemminger Place: Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Peace and Justice Plaza, Hargraves Community Center, Franklin StreetChapelboro: Family, Community Members March to Remember James Cates 50 Years Later
  10. James Cates Remembrance Coalition proposes naming Student Stores for Cates A coalition of Cates's family, historian Danita Mason-Hogans and community members proposed renaming UNC's Student Stores building in his honor. The building had not been renamed as of 2024. People: Nate Davis, Valerie Foushee, Danita Mason-Hogans, James L. Cates Jr. Place: Chapel HillDaily Tar Heel: 'This was a life': UNC community gathers for memorial to honor James Cates
  11. UNC announces a permanent memorial to James Cates in the Pit Chancellor Kevin M. Guskiewicz announced that a permanent memorial to Cates would be installed in the Pit later in 2022, developed with students, faculty, staff and the Cates family, approved by the Board of Trustees and supported by the Town of Chapel Hill. People: Kevin M. Guskiewicz, James L. Cates Jr. Place: Chapel HillUNC-Chapel Hill: A message from the chancellor: James Cates Memorial
  12. UNC dedicates the James L. Cates Jr. Memorial in the Pit On the 52nd anniversary of his death, UNC dedicated a black lectern-style marker near the spot where Cates was stabbed, with an inscription from the University and the Town of Chapel Hill. Speakers included Chancellor Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Congresswoman-elect Valerie Foushee for the family, student body president Taliajah Vann and BSM president Julia Clark. People: Valerie Foushee, Kevin M. Guskiewicz, James L. Cates Jr. Place: The Pit, UNC-Chapel Hill · Also named: Taliajah Vann, Julia ClarkUNC-Chapel Hill: Carolina dedicates James L. Cates Jr. Memorial
Show all 15 dated events
  1. Student groups hold a memorial for James Cates in the Pit The Southern Student Action Coalition, the Black Student Movement, the Community Justice, Abolition and Anti-Racism Collective and the UNC NAACP held a memorial at the Pit, where speakers criticized the wording and placement of the 2022 plaque. People: Danita Mason-Hogans, James L. Cates Jr. Place: The Pit, UNC-Chapel HillDaily Tar Heel: 'This was a life': UNC community gathers for memorial to honor James Cates
  2. The Justice Department closes its cold-case review of the Cates killing without charges In a notice made public in 2025, the Civil Rights Division closed its Emmett Till Act review of the 1970 killing without charges. It found that the statute of limitations had run on the federal civil rights charges that applied in 1970, that two of the men acquitted in 1971 had died, and that referral to the state was not appropriate. Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division: James Cates
  3. Students and residents mark 55 years since the killing of James Cates The Carolina NAACP chapter and the Black Student Movement held a remembrance for Cates on campus, and student leaders again called the 2022 plaque's passive wording inadequate. People: James L. Cates Jr. Place: UNC-Chapel HillDaily Tar Heel: 'A 22-year-old like us': Students gather to remember James L. Cates Jr. 55 years after his murder

People named in the same events

People named in the same dated entries as James L. Cates Jr., those sharing the most entries first. Each line links one of the shared entries in the chronology, where its source is cited. A shared entry shows these people in the same event, not how well they knew each other.

Indexed works

Works about or by James L. Cates Jr.. Each links to the institution that holds or provides it. Background reading appears below.

A case for reparations at UNC : the life & murder of James Cates

Ogle, Mike (Michael Edward) · 2019 · Mike Ogle

A zine by Mike Ogle on the life and death of James L. Cates Jr., who was killed in 1970, and on the case for reparations at the University of North Carolina. Ogle designed and printed it himself and gave it away at a monument dedication in Chapel Hill on 12 February 2019. Topics include crimes against African Americans in the town during the twentieth century.

Included because: Catalog heading in the UNC record: Cates, James L., Jr., 1948-1970 -- Death and burial.

UNC

Places in this person’s story

Buildings, schools, churches and other sites named in the dated events on this page, the most often named first. The map shows them all.

Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Site locations from the N.C. State Historic Preservation Office survey, Open Orange, Orange County GIS, OpenStreetMap and a few other published sources named on each site’s page; town and community pins show approximate locations.

All places and the county map →

Research sources

Sources and research tools for this person. For ready-made searches of other catalogs, see Search further. Research guide: Trace a family through historical records.

Background

Records of the time

Collections and databases

Local help

Search further

Search other catalogs and collections for this name. Results may include other people with the same name and have not been reviewed by the Friends.

Books about James L. Cates Jr.

Find copies at other libraries

Photographs, papers, and newspapers

Historical records and collections

Catalog searches use the catalog name heading: Cates, James L., Jr., 1948-1970. Historical-record searches use the person’s name and may include namesakes. Links open in a new tab.

Found a book OCPL doesn’t own? You can often borrow it through interlibrary loan at OCPL.

More to discover

Keep Reading Local

The Friends connect people with new library materials, local writers and publishers, and resources documenting Orange County.

Browse New Arrivals → Meet Local Authors → Explore Local Publishers →
Two mice reading back to back against a leaf, with the hand-lettered words Friends of the Orange County Public Library
Illustration by Caldecott Medalist Matthew Cordell, gifted to the Friends 2026