school NAACP members acted in regular pickets outside of the Royal Ice Cream Parlor. Admittance to UNC Law School After graduating from Morehouse in 1948, McKissick decided to pursue a career in law. He returned to his native state North Carolina, and applied to the University of North Carolina (UNC) School of Law. He was subsequently denied admission because of his race. After his denial, he enrolled in North Carolina College (NCC) School of Law, now North Carolina Central University (NCCU), in Durham, North Carolina, which was the law school for blacks. While in NCC's Law School, the NAACP accepted McKissick's case, and filed a lawsuit against UNC School of Law. Thurgood Marshall led the NAACP defense. In 1951, a ruling by the United States Court of Appeals allowed McKissick and three other students admission to UNC's School of Law. At the time of the ruling, McKissick had nearly finished his law degree from NCC, but he took courses at UNC School of Law during the summer of 1951. McKissick was in the first group of black students to be admitted at UNC School of Law. Law efforts In 1955, McKissick established a law firm in Durham, NC. His law firm was involved with civil rights issues and his clients included the first black undergraduates to attend UNC-Chapel Hill in 1955. He successfully defended sit-in protesters of the Durham's Royal Ice Cream Parlor in 1957, and the families who integrated Durham's city school system in 1959. The lead plaintiffs in the 1959 school desegregation case were his daughter, Joycelyn, and his wife, Evelyn. As a lawyer, McKissick's most publicized efforts involved a segregated black local in the Tobacco Workers International, an AFL-CIO member. McKissick pressed to have black workers admitted to the skilled scale without loss of their seniority rating. Involvement with CORE After the Greensboro sit-in at Woolworth's lunch counter on February 1, 1960, Gordon Carey and James T. McCain, CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) field secretaries, were sent to the Carolinas to help with the negotiating of department store owners and to spark interest in more sit-ins. Carey was introduced to McKissick during this time. "Carey helped McKissick and students organize the demonstrations that broke out on February 8th in Durham, and in the course of the next few weeks the two men travelled over the state setting up non-violent workshops." McKissick handled legal affairs for both the