Booker Thomas Spicely (December 1, 1909 – July 8, 1944) was a victim of racial violence whose murder in North Carolina, United States is considered to be one of a series of outrages that contributed to rising activism in the Civil Rights Movement. Other incidents in this period included

Irene Morgan Irene Amos Morgan (April 9, 1917 – August 10, 2007), later known as Irene Morgan Kirkaldy, was an African-American woman from Baltimore, Maryland, who was arrested in Middlesex County, Virginia, in 1944 under a state law imposing racial segreg ...

in July 1944 being arrested and jailed in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

for refusing to give up her seat on an interstate bus to a white person. The aftermath of Spicely’s killing helped revitalize North Carolina’s NAACP. Finally, on December 1, 2023, an NC State Historical Marker was erected in honor of B.T. Spicely at the intersection of W. Club Blvd and Broad St, Durham.

Biography

Spicely was born in Blackstone, Virginia, to Lazarus and Alberta Spicely. He attended two years of

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

and was a cook and chauffeur before volunteering for the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

on December 31, 1943, in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. He did not work for the Tuskegee Institute like most stories say. It was his brother Robert who was actually the director of Commercial Dietetics at Tuskegee Institute. Booker Spicely's serial number was 33809308, and he was in the 3713^th Quartermaster Company, a segregated truck company. In 1944, Private Spicely was stationed at

Camp Butner Camp Butner was a United States Army installation in Butner, North Carolina, during World War II. It was named after Army general and North Carolina native Henry W. Butner. Part of it was used as a POW camp for German prisoners of war in the Unit ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. While on a pass into the nearby city of

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...

on July 8, 1944, he boarded a bus, owned and operated by

Duke Power Duke Energy Corporation is an American electric power and natural gas holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A hold ...

. Accompanied by a black woman he was talking to at the bus stop, and according to her sworn statement, they sat in the second to last seat and not in the front as reported. The driver told them all to move to the last seat for some white soldiers who boarded, as public transportation was segregated in North Carolina. The woman did, but Spicely refused, initially asking the other soldiers why he had to move since he was not aware of the laws in North Carolina. There was conflicting testimony exactly what PVT Spicely said but one of the white soldiers mentioned that he said "I thought I was fighting this war for democracy". The bus driver then said "shut up or get off". During the ride, PVT Spicely continued arguing with the bus driver until he departed the bus. When he did, the driver followed him off the bus and shot Spicely twice when the soldier turned around. His cause of death is listed as homicide ("shot by bus driver"), with death occurring due to a "pistol shot wound through heart" with a secondary cause of "pistol shot through liver". The driver, Herman Lee Council, a Duke Power employee, was tried for the second-degree murder of Spicely; he was acquitted by the all-white jury on the grounds of self-defense. Robert Spicely wrote to Chief Counsel for the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

Thurgood Marshall Thoroughgood "Thurgood" Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme C ...

, asking him to intercede in the case. Due to opposition from local Black leaders, NAACP lawyers did not play a direct role in the trial of Herman Lee Council. According to some sources, due to Spicely's murder, a riot ensued in the tobacco

warehouse district This is a list of notable warehouse districts. A warehouse district or warehouse row is an area found in many urban setting known for being the current or former location of numerous warehouses. Logistically, warehouses are often located in indus ...

of Durham, resulting in the destruction (via arson) of several of the white-owned

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

warehouses. However, contemporary newspaper accounts make no mention of a connection between Spicely's death and the warehouse district fire. The War Department conducted an investigation of Spicely's death titled ''Subject: Racial Incident, Shooting of Negro Soldier, Durham, N.C. on 8 July 1944 at about 1940'', dated July 12, 1944. His cause of death, which occurred during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, is listed as DNB, or “Died, Non-Battle.” Spicely's body was returned to his home in Blackstone, Virginia, for burial. Herman Lee Council died in a nursing home in 1982. The aftermath of Spicely’s killing helped revitalize North Carolina’s NAACP. The Durham branch of the NAACP was named for Private Spicely. Finally, on December 1, 2023, an NC State Historical Marker was erected in honor of B.T. Spicely at the intersection of W. Club Blvd and Broad St, Durham.

References

External links

Warehouse district fire (Endangered Durham)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spicely, Booker T. 1909 births 1944 deaths People murdered in 1944 African Americans in World War II Murdered African-American people People murdered in North Carolina Deaths by firearm in North Carolina People from Blackstone, Virginia African-American history of North Carolina United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army soldiers African-American United States Army personnel Killings in North Carolina