Born in North Carolina in 1891, James Myles Hinton grew up in New York City. He served in the United States Army during World War I and then became an agent with Pilgrim Health and Life Insurance Company, a Black-owned insurance firm. He married Ethel Bell and had four children as the family moved around with Hinton’s work for Pilgrim. In 1935, Ethel passed away. Two years later, Hinton married Lula V. Thomas and the family settled in Columbia, South Carolina.

Rev. James M. Hinton was appointed to the NAACP National Board of Directors in 1952, and in 1964, became Vice President of the NAACP National Board of Directors.
Lighthouse and Informer, July 7, 1951.
Courtesy of Historical Newspapers of South Carolina, University of South Carolina Libraries

Hinton quickly became a leader in the Columbia branch of the NAACP and, when it formed in 1939, the South Carolina NAACP State Conference. He served as state president from 1941 until 1958, increasing the size and influence of the group dramatically. As leader of the NAACP, Hinton developed plans to increase Black voting in South Carolina, including ending the all-white Democratic primary. He also led the NAACP to push for educational equality, helping Black teachers sue for equal pay to white teachers with the same qualifications.

E.E. Richburg, Modjeska Simkins, J.W. Seals, Joseph A. De Laine, Sr., Harry Briggs, John McCray, J.S. (Flutie) Boyd, James Hinton, and Eugene Montgomery at a ceremony honoring the participants of Briggs v. Elliott, June 17, 1951.
Courtesy of Joseph A. De Laine Papers, South Caroliniana Library

In 1947, Hinton began to move the NAACP’s legal efforts in South Carolina toward education. Hinton called for plaintiffs to make a case asking for school buses for Black students, leading to Levi Pearson’s challenge in Clarendon County. Following the dismissal of that case, Hinton worked with Thurgood Marshall, Harold Boulware, and other NAACP leaders to shift their legal focus toward fighting for equal schools generally, then challenging segregation outright.

Hinton faced severe retaliation for his leadership in the NAACP. In Augusta, he was kidnapped, beaten, and tied to a tree. In Columbia, his home was fired upon. Despite these violent reprisals, he remained committed to ending segregation and advocating for equality for African Americans, including pressuring the state to comply with the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision. In 1958, Hinton resigned from his leadership position in the South Carolina NAACP and became the pastor of Second Calvary Baptist Church in Columbia. He passed away in 1970.

SCL-JAD-1948_02_10-Hinton_to_DeLaine-Legal_Funds-KP1

James Hinton wrote to Joseph A. De Laine to update him about the bus lawsuit in Clarendon County.
Courtesy of Joseph A. De Laine Papers, South Caroliniana Library
Letter from Rev. Hinton to L.B. McCord, School Funding

Letter from Rev. Hinton to L.B. McCord, School Funding
SCL-JAD-1955_10_18-Hinton_to_Mattie_DeLaine-NAACP_Legal-KP1

James Hinton encouraged Mattie De Laine, Rev. Joseph A. De Laine’s wife, that the NAACP would offer legal support for the family, if needed.
Courtesy of Joseph A. De Laine Papers, South Caroliniana Library

Letter from Rev. James M. Hinton to Rev. Joseph A. De Laine, Bus Lawsuit

James Hinton wrote to Joseph A. De Laine to update him about the bus lawsuit in Clarendon County.
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Letter from Rev. Hinton to Mrs. Mattie De Laine, NAACP Support

James Hinton encouraged Mattie De Laine, Rev. Joseph A. De Laine’s wife, that the NAACP would offer legal support for the family, if needed.
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Letter from Rev. Hinton to L.B. McCord, School Funding

Following the state’s claim of increasing funding for African American schools, James Hinton pressed Clarendon County Superintendent of Education to provide that money.
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