Biography
One of the Wilmington 10, convicted in 1972 on conspiracy and arson charges arising from the February 1971 firebombing of Mike's Grocery in Wilmington, North Carolina. Convictions of all ten were vacated by the Fourth Circuit in 1980 after recantations by prosecution witnesses, and Governor Bev Perdue granted pardons of innocence on December 31, 2012.
James “Bun” McKoy was one of the Black student activists swept into Wilmington’s 1971 school boycott and protests for educational equality during the city’s desegregation turmoil. He became one of the Wilmington Ten, a group whose legal case became emblematic of the era’s racial and political tensions.
McKoy was prosecuted in 1972 in connection with the firebombing of Mike’s Grocery and allegations that the group conspired to assault emergency responders. The Wilmington Ten were convicted on October 17, 1972, and McKoy received a 29‑year sentence. The convictions were overturned by the Fourth Circuit in 1980, and the group was later granted pardons of innocence in 2012. Wilmington native; convicted at age 19 with 29-year sentence (third-longest). Lived quietly in Wilmington post-release. Died November 10, 2023, age 69.
