James Myles Hinton

Rev. James Myles Hinton Sr. (1891–1970) was an American minister, businessperson, and civil rights leader. Hinton was a leader within the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in South Carolina during the Jim Crow era in the 1940s and 1950s; he was a president of the local chapter, and served as the second president of the South Carolina Conference of Branches of the NAACP, from 1941 to 1958. In later life, Hinton served as the pastor at the Second Calvary Baptist Church in Columbia, South Carolina. He was raised by his aunt. In 1917, he was drafted into the United States Army, where Hinton rose to the rank of infantry lieutenant. He often held fundraising and recruitment efforts.

From 1941 until 1958, Hinton coordinated with Thurgood Marshall on lawsuits challenging unequal teacher pay, all-White primaries, and school segregation. South Carolina state representative John David Long had introduced a Congressional Resolution, a "pledge to White supremacy" in March 2, 1944; and Hinton led the NAACP to fight the issue in court. During this time period, Hinton was raising money for a voting rights lawsuit and was actively fighting for change. He was chained to a tree and beaten by White men on April 21, 1949, in Augusta.