James Orange

James Edward Orange (October 29, 1942 – February 16, 2008), also known as "Shackdaddy", Orange joined the civil rights marches led by King and Ralph Abernathy in Atlanta in 1963. Orange, at over tall He was also known for preaching and singing in a strong baritone voice.

In 1963, working as a chef in Birmingham, Orange wasn't involved heavily in Civil Rights. When he was invited to attend a Civil Rights speech with a friend, he accepted. At the weekly Monday night mass meetings at the 16th Street Baptist Church, he was transfixed by a speech on equality by Ralph Abernathy. Once Orange heard Abernathy speak, his passion was ignited. He said, "...The longer I listened, the more intently I listened, I became absorbed in his message..." In a meeting in the church basement later that night, he volunteered to risk arrest picketing a local store the next day. He remarked later that he was probably assigned the task because of his massive size. He was arrested, the first of at least 104 arrests for picketing or acts of civil disobedience.

Orange became involved with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in Alabama, with fellow members as notable as Martin Luther King Jr. Additionally, Orange always called people that worked with him "leaders," even those who he was instructing. When asked about this, he said that calling everyone a leader anointed them with a mission to make the world more just. On one occasion, Orange attempted to separate a violent gang action by preaching a message of positivity and ended up with a broken nose.

As part of his civil rights work for the SCLC in Alabama, he was arrested and jailed prior to conviction in 1965 for contributing to the delinquency of minors by enlisting them to work in voter registration drives and for encouraging them to sing freedom songs at the courthouse. His detention in Perry County, Alabama, sparked fears that he would be lynched, and a protest march was organized to support him.

During that march on February 18, 1965, an Alabama state trooper fatally shot a young man, Jimmie Lee Jackson, in the stomach.

According to a fellow activist speaking shortly after his death, "He stayed active right up until the end... The Martin Luther King celebration this year fell on the 21st . He was still conducting it from his hospital bed. If you wanted something... he was still calling the shots." Even on his deathbed, he was telling friends about more work they needed to do in the community to combat racial injustice.

Orange's wife of 39 years, Cleophas, survived him, as did three daughters and a son. His youngest daughter, Pamela Aquica Orange, died on March 11, 2007. His daughter Jamida Orange spoke to the press on behalf of the family at the time of his death.

In popular culture Orange is played in the 2014 film Selma by Omar Dorsey.