J. Kenneth Lee House
1960
1021 Broad Ave., Greensboro, NC
Standing
Residential
“Willie Edward ‘Blue’ Jenkins,” http://www.ncmodernist.org/jenkins.htm.
Built for a prominent attorney and his family, this is among the finest and most intact modernist residences in Greensboro. Jenkins designed it for Lee while he was employed by Loewenstein. Born in Charlotte, J. Kenneth Lee graduated from NCA&T with a degree in Electrical Engineering in 1945 and served in the Navy as electrician’s mate during World War II. In 1951, after a lengthy lawsuit, Lee and Harvey Beech became the first two African Americans to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Law School, and they were the first graduates in 1952. During his 38 years of legal practice, Lee participated in numerous civil rights lawsuits. He was also a founder of American Federal Savings & Loan, the second African American-owned thrift in the state, a member of numerous boards and commissions, and the recipient of many awards.