Fred J. Carnage facts for kids

Fred Jonathan Carnage (born April 16, 1894 – died March 5, 1988) was an American lawyer. He worked to help African Americans gain equal rights and opportunities in the United States.

Early Life and Education

Fred Jonathan Carnage was born in Thomasville, Georgia, on April 16, 1894. His parents were Caroline and Calvin Carnage. His father worked on the railway. Fred went to Allen Normal School in Thomasville for his early education.

He later attended Morgan State College in Baltimore, graduating in 1923. He then studied law at Howard University in Washington D. C.. He earned his law degree in 1926. The next year, he moved to Raleigh, North Carolina. He started working for the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company. He eventually became an assistant manager there. On December 18, 1932, he married Mary E. Coleman in Virginia. They had one daughter.

Working for Change

Legal Career and Civil Rights

In 1932, Fred Carnage passed the North Carolina bar exam. This meant he could practice law. He opened his own law office in Raleigh. He was only the second Black lawyer in the city. His office stayed on East Hargett Street for his entire career.

Early in his career, many Black residents in Raleigh's Lincoln Park and College Park areas faced a problem. They paid the same taxes as other city residents. However, they did not have water or sewage services. These residents signed a petition. Carnage spoke to the North Carolina General Assembly on their behalf. He asked for the necessary facilities to be built. The city government agreed to install water and sewage pipes in the area.

In 1932, Carnage also helped create a Negro Voters League. This group successfully registered 1,500 Black people to vote. However, the Wake County Board of Elections removed their names from the voter lists. Carnage and another lawyer sued the board. They took the case to the North Carolina Supreme Court. After some tests for the voters, their names were put back on the lists.

Carnage fought against racial segregation in businesses. He once told a judge that if a business advertised itself as open to the public, it should not be allowed to refuse customers based on their race. In 1961, he defended three Shaw University students. They had been arrested during a sit-in protest. On February 6, 1962, he made history again. He became the first Black person appointed to the North Carolina Advisory Committee to the Chief of Protocol.

Community Work and School Board

Fred Carnage was also a member of the Negro Citizens Committee. He and two others spoke to the General Assembly. They wanted to get land for a public park for Black residents in Raleigh. They succeeded, and John Chavis Memorial Park opened in 1938. During World War II, he started a United Service Organizations (USO) chapter. This group provided entertainment for Black soldiers in Raleigh.

In 1947, Raleigh changed its city government system. Carnage and another Black man ran for seats on the new Raleigh City Council. They did not win, but Carnage received 1,920 votes.

On February 15, 1949, Carnage was appointed to the Raleigh Board of Education. This made him the first Black person to serve on that board. At the time, one-third of Raleigh's public school students were Black. His appointment helped give them a voice. In November 1951, he took part in the groundbreaking ceremony for John W. Ligon Junior-Senior High School.

The Supreme Court of the United States later ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. In February 1956, Carnage was the first Raleigh school board member to support this decision. He said, "Children should have a better understanding of each other." He believed that Black people mainly wanted equal economic opportunities.

Raleigh's public schools began to integrate in 1960. The next year, Carnage was the only board member to vote for a Black student to attend Broughton High School. He explained his vote, saying, "The sooner a few Negro children enter these schools and the public finds they are just like other children, the sooner the whole thing will be settled."

Carnage left the school board in 1962. In September 1965, the board named a junior high school after him. In his later years, he would visit the school every year to speak to the students.

Later Life

Fred Carnage continued to practice law until he passed away on March 5, 1988.