The first lawsuit filled in the South against professional organizations and societies which bar Negroes from membership reached the federal court here today.

Press Release
March 20, 1960

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The first lawsuit filled in the South against professional organizations and societies which bar Negroes from membership reached the federal court here today. preview

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Press Releases, Loose Pages. The first lawsuit filled in the South against professional organizations and societies which bar Negroes from membership reached the federal court here today., 1960. 4f69b4ab-bc92-ee11-be37-00224827e97b. LDF Archives, Thurgood Marshall Institute. https://ldfrecollection.org/archives/archives-search/archives-item/0fe12f53-f0dd-4e21-af35-3e49db0ebee7/the-first-lawsuit-filled-in-the-south-against-professional-organizations-and-societies-which-bar-negroes-from-membership-reached-the-federal-court-here-today. Accessed July 30, 2025.

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    PRES 5 ROB LEAS er 

CONRAD O. PEARSON 
2034 E. Chapel Hill St. 
Durham, N. C. 
TEL. NO. 2-6156 

FOR RELEASE 

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 
12:00 Noon 

CHARLOTTE, N. C., March 30. -- The first lawsuit filed in the 

South against professional organizations and societies which bar 

Negroes from membership reached the federal court here today. The 

action is against the North Carolina Dental Society and the Second 

District Dental Society of North Carolina. 

The two associations are charged with depriving Negro dentists 

residing in this State, of their rights to practice in local, state 

and federal clinics and hospitals. 

The suit was filed this morning in the U. S. District Court on 

behalf of Dr. Reginald A. Hawkins, a prominent Negro dentist in 

this city, by attorneys for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational 

Fund. It seeks an injunction restraining the two dental societies 

from continuing the practice of excluding qualified Negroes from 

membership. 

The North Carolina Dental Association is the dominant profes- 

sional dental organization in the state and is an affiliate of the 

American Dental Association, the single general professional asso- 

ciation of dentists in the United States. 

The Second District Dental Society is one of five state regional 

chapters in the N.C.D.S. and operates under the charter of the state 

association. No one can become a member of either the state or the 

national body unless he is first a member of the local association 

The by-laws of the Second District Dental Society require the 

endorsement of two active members before an applicant can be con- 

sidered for membership. The application must then be unanimously 

approved by the executive committee in order to reach the genera! 

me bership. At least two-thirds of the members present must vote in 

favor of the applicant before he can become a member. 



The N.C.D.S. dominates the practice of dentistry in the state. 

It also determines who serves on the State Board of Dental Examiners 

The State Board of Dental Examiners is an official board of the 

State of North Carolina and approves the qualifications of dentists 

in the State. 

Further, various individual and group insurance plans, includir 

health and malpractice insurance, which are available at low rates, 

are available only to members of the state association or the 

American Dental Society. 

More important, Dr. Hawkins's attorneys point out in a complain» 

filed this morning, no practicing dentist residing in North Carolina 

who is not a member of either the local or state society can be 

employed by many city, state or federal clinics or hospitals. 

The lawyers for Dr. Hawkins ask the court to hear argument in 

the case and issue an injunction "forever restraining" the two 

societies from excluding him and other qualified Negro dentists from 

membership because of race or color. 

"These laws, regulations, customs and practices deprive Negro 

dentists of the right to participate in the benefits of the various 

activities of the societies conducted for and in the interest of 

dentists practicing in the State of North Carolina," the lawyers 

argue. 

NAACP Legal Defense Fund attorneys for Dr. Hawkins are Thurgood 

Marshall, Jack Greenberg and James M. Nabrit, III, of New York, and 

T. H. Wyche and Conrad O. Pearson, of Durham, N. C. 

230

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The first lawsuit filled in the South against professional organizations and societies which bar Negroes from membership reached the federal court here today.

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