James Garfield Beck

James Garfield Beck (1881–1969) was an American educator, coach, postal clerk, socialite, and community leader in Knoxville, Tennessee.[1] He graduated from Knoxville College.[2]

Beck was born in Alabama and named for United States President James Garfield.[3]

Beck became the first African American postal clerk in Tennessee.[4] He and his wife Ethel B. Beck (1897 - 1970) helped establish the Ethel Beck Home for Colored Orphans in 1919. Beck was a sergeant at arms at the 1940 Republican National Convention.[5] He died on February 9, 1969 at the age of 87. [6]

  1. ^ "Black History Detail". www.beckcenter.net.
  2. ^ "James Garfield Beck and Ethel Benson Beck". ww2.tnstate.edu.
  3. ^ "Black History Month and Valentine's Day Both Offer Occasions to Celebrate James and Ethel Beck". Knoxville History Project. February 13, 2017.
  4. ^ Smith, Jessie Carney (December 1, 2012). Black Firsts: 4,000 Ground-Breaking and Pioneering Historical Events. Visible Ink Press. ISBN 9781578594245 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ "The Becks". www.beckcenter.net.
  6. ^ "Surviving the past lends strength to Beck Center". Knox TN Today. 2022-06-14. Retrieved 2024-07-15.