James Garfield Beck

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James Garfield Beck (1881–1969) was an American educator, coach, postal clerk, social leader, and community organizer in Knoxville, Tennessee. He graduated from Knoxville College. Beck was born in Alabama and was named after President James Garfield. He became Tennessee’s first African American postal clerk. With his wife, Ethel B. Beck (1897–1970), he helped establish the Ethel Beck Home for Colored Orphans in 1919. Beck served as sergeant at arms at the 1940 Republican National Convention. He died February 9, 1969, at age 87.