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Storyline

Killing of James Cates, 1970

The Chapel Hill man killed in the Pit at UNC in November 1970; headings are still being sought.

In briefJames 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.

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4 works about Killing of James Cates, 1970 are indexed here. 1 held at OCPL →

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In the chronology

Events in this storyline, in date order. See these 27 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: James L. Cates Jr., 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. Black residents question the police handling of the Cates killing Black residents met at the Roberson Street Center to discuss how police handled the stabbing, young Black residents of Chapel Hill and Carrboro asked the Justice Department to investigate the campus police, and a fund was started to hire extra counsel for the prosecution. Vice Chancellor Joseph Eagles and Assistant Chancellor Claiborne Jones began reviewing the campus police response. Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: Joseph Eagles, Claiborne JonesThe Daily Tar Heel, December 1, 1970, p. 1
  6. Three Durham men bound over to the grand jury in the Cates killing At a preliminary hearing in Hillsborough, three Durham men were bound over to the Orange County Grand Jury on murder charges and held without bond. Medical testimony indicated that immediate care could have prevented Cates's death. Place: HillsboroughThe Daily Tar Heel, December 2, 1970, p. 1 (text)
  7. Faculty Council tables a plan to disarm campus police by day and creates a faculty grievance committee Two weeks after the killing of James Cates outside the Student Union, the UNC Faculty Council sent back to committee a resolution to take firearms from campus police in daylight, put them in non-military uniforms, keep outside police off campus without the chancellor's consent and train officers in crowd control. The same day it created a nine-member Faculty Grievance Committee to hear faculty members' grievances. People: Daniel A. Okun, J. Carlyle Sitterson Place: Faculty Council, 111 Murphey Hall, UNC, Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Student UnionThe Daily Tar Heel, December 5, 1970, p. 1
  8. An Orange County grand jury indicts three men for murder in the Cates killing and faults the University The Orange County grand jury indicted three members of the Durham motorcycle gang the Storm Troopers for first-degree murder in the killing of James Cates, and in a resolution filed with the indictments said the University bore some responsibility for allowing an all-night dance with too few police. It warned that such gatherings would bring more deaths if they continued. Place: Orange County Courthouse, HillsboroughThe Daily Tar Heel, December 14, 1970, p. 1
  9. UNC Faculty Council asks that campus police go unarmed except in special circumstances The Faculty Council unanimously passed a five-part resolution asking the chancellor to keep campus police unarmed except when he judged arms necessary, to put them in distinctive non-military dress, to draw up written crisis plans for campus, town and state police and the National Guard, and to require regular training. Its inquiry found that during the May 1970 strike only four of the 20 campus officers had finished basic firearms training. People: J. Carlyle Sitterson Place: Faculty Council, UNC, Chapel HillThe Daily Tar Heel, January 9, 1971, p. 1
  10. 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)
  11. About 400 people march on Franklin Street the night the Cates defendants are acquitted On the night an all-white jury acquitted three Durham motorcycle gang members in the killing of James Cates, about 400 people, most of them Black, marched along Franklin Street singing and chanting. Police Chief William Blake called the march fairly orderly, though a plate-glass window was reported broken at a West Rosemary Street market; Black youths met the next morning at the Roberson Street Center to discuss how to assure justice in the case. Place: Franklin Street, Chapel Hill · Also named: William D. Blake, William Blake · Also mentions: West Rosemary StreetThe Daily Tar Heel, April 6, 1971, p. 1
  12. 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
Show all 27 dated events
  1. About 400 Chapel Hill residents march down Franklin Street to protest the Cates verdict On the Sunday after the trial, about 400 residents, mostly Black with several whites, marched down Franklin Street in a strictly nonviolent protest of the acquittals in the Cates killing. The Rev. Robert Seymour of Binkley Memorial Baptist Church, an organizer, said the march expressed concern about the justice of the courts and that many whites were indignant at the outcome. Place: Franklin Street, Chapel Hill · Also named: Robert SeymourThe Daily Tar Heel, April 6, 1971, p. 1
  2. The Chapel Hill Human Relations Commission holds a public forum on the Cates prosecution Black and white residents met at the Town Hall courtroom in a forum sponsored by the Human Relations Commission to question how the state had handled the Cates case. District Solicitor Herbert Pierce did not attend but answered the group's prepared questions in written statements, which UNC law professor Dan Pollitt, a commission member, relayed. Place: Town Hall, Chapel Hill · Also named: Herbert Pierce, Dan PollittThe Daily Tar Heel, April 6, 1971, p. 1
  3. 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
  4. Students march in memory of James Cates and two students killed at Southern University On a day of mourning proclaimed by student body president Richard Epps, about 100 students marched from Silent Sam along Franklin Street, South Columbia and Cameron Avenue to a commemoration in the Great Hall for James Cates, killed outside the Student Union in 1970, and for Denver Smith and Leonard Douglas Brown, killed at Southern University in Baton Rouge. BSM chairman Warren Carson led the service, the BSM Gospel Choir sang, and Epps, the Rev. Osalo McDonald and Yvonne Burchette spoke. Place: Silent Sam and the Great Hall, Carolina Union, University, Chapel Hill · Also named: Richard Epps, Warren Carson, Osalo McDonald, Yvonne Burchette · Also mentions: Great Hall, Cameron Avenue, Franklin StreetThe Daily Tar Heel, November 21, 1972, p. 1
  5. 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
  6. 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
  7. 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
  8. Chapel Hill Public Library webinar marks the 51st anniversary of the Cates killing The Chapel Hill Public Library hosted a webinar in which family and friends, including state Senator Valerie Foushee, a first cousin of Cates, reflected on his life and on the failures that followed his death. People: Valerie Foushee Place: Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Chapel Hill Public LibraryChapelboro: 'We Expected Justice': 51 Years After James Cates' Murder, Trauma Remains
  9. Justice Department opens a cold-case investigation into the Cates killing The U.S. Department of Justice opened an investigation into the killing under the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act and its cold-case initiative for racially motivated killings before 1980. Cates's cousins Nate Davis and Valerie Foushee welcomed the review. People: Nate Davis, Valerie Foushee Place: Chapel HillINDY Week: The Department of Justice Has Finally Opened an Investigation into the 1970 Murder of James Lewis Cates Jr.
  10. 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
  11. Chapel Hill names the Hargraves Center gym for Nate Davis The Town Council unanimously approved naming the Northside Gym at the Hargraves Community Center for Davis, the center's director for more than three decades, and its indoor court for Fred Battle, director from 1970 to 1987. People: Nate Davis, Fred Battle Place: Hargraves Community Center, Chapel HillSearch the index · Chapelboro: Renaming of Gym, Basketball Court Honors Chapel Hill Community Leaders
  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
  13. 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
  14. 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. People: James L. Cates Jr. Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division: James Cates
  15. 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

Places in this history

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.

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Indexed works

Related works found in catalogs and archives across North Carolina. Each links to the institution that holds or provides it.

African Americans of Durham & Orange Counties

Bolduc, Jean · 2016

Jean Bolduc's 2016 collection of interviews with African American residents of Durham and Orange counties, presented as short biographies. The subjects are Floyd McKissick (1922-1991), the first African American admitted to UNC's law school, Walter Jackson, Brenda Stephens, Nate Davis, poet Jaki Shelton Green, Jackie Wagstaff, Diane Wright and Michelle Johnson, with a closing chapter on the Ku Klux Klan. 125 pages with illustrations.

Included because: The record names this subject alongside a heading for the county or its towns.

✓ Held at OCPL · NC 975.656 BOLDUC Duke

African Americans of Durham and Orange counties : an oral history

Bolduc, Jean · 2016 · The History Press

Jean Bolduc's collection of oral history interviews with Black residents of Durham and Orange counties, published by The History Press in 2016, 125 pages with photographs and portraits. The narrators are the poet Jaki Shelton Green, civil rights lawyer Floyd McKissick, Walter Jackson, Nate Davis, Brenda Stephens, Diane Wright, Jackie Wagstaff and Michelle Johnson, and a closing chapter deals with the Ku Klux Klan. The interviews document Black life and race relations in the two counties across the twentieth century.

Included because: The record names this subject alongside a heading for the county or its towns.

NC Cardinal Duke Durham Wake Forest CH Historical Society UNC

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

Installation of Carolina's 12th chancellor : Sunday, October 11, 2020, 3 p.m., Memorial Hall : Kevin Guskiewicz, twelfth chancellor

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · 2020 · The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Program for the installation of Kevin Guskiewicz as the twelfth chancellor of UNC Chapel Hill, held in Memorial Hall on Sunday, October 11, 2020, at three in the afternoon. Eight unnumbered pages with color portraits, published by the university.

Included because: Its title names this subject.

UNC

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