COLLEGE & FAMILY
After graduating high school, Mapp attended Tennessee A & I College (now Tennessee State University), majoring in Business Administration and serving as Vice President of the Freshman Class.
He married Viola Martin Mapp of Greenville, Kentucky, and together they raised eight children: Brenda, Deborah, Michaellee, Jon, Angela, Toney, Alicia, and Ivy. They were married for 46 years. He later married Bettye Jean McCoy of Meridian, Mississippi, and they reside in Chattanooga.
CIVIL RIGHTS LEADERSHIP
James R. Mapp became active in the NAACP in 1941, beginning a lifetime of service to the fight for racial justice. As a young man, he quickly emerged as a leader within the organization. From 1945 to 1947, he served as President of the Coordinated Youth Councils of Chattanooga, helping mobilize young people in the struggle for equality.
In 1953, he became Branch Secretary of the Chattanooga NAACP, a role he held until 1959, when he was elected Branch President. He would go on to serve as President for a total of 28 years, making him one of the longest‑serving local NAACP presidents in the state of Tennessee. Mapp also served as State President for two and a half years and later chaired the NAACP Region for two years, helping coordinate civil rights efforts across multiple states. His leadership advanced school desegregation, open housing, employment justice, and equal access throughout Chattanooga and Tennessee.
His work placed him at the center of the civil rights movement, collaborating with national leaders and strengthening the NAACP’s presence across the region. His commitment to justice, discipline, and moral courage shaped the civil rights landscape for generations.
James R. Mapp with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and regional civil rights leaders, Chattanooga, 1960
CIVIC & POLITICAL SERVICE
Mapp served on the first Mayor’s Bi‑racial Committee (1960–65) and the Tennessee Court Modernization Committee (1976–78). He was a founding member of the Tennessee Voters Council and the Unity Group. He ran for several county offices, including County Council, County Registrar, Trustee, and County Commissioner. He was a Life Member of the NAACP, a Golden Heritage Member, an Honorary PTA Life Member, and a member of the AARP. He also held the 33rd Degree in the United Ancient Free and Accepted Scottish Rite Masons.
PROFESSIONAL CAREER
Mapp served 16 years as an Agent and Assistant Manager with North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company and one year as Manager for Union Protective Life Insurance Company. In 1964, he opened the James R. Mapp General Insurance Agency, which operated for many years. He later worked as a Housing Planner, where he played a key role in passing Chattanooga’s Open Housing Ordinance. In 1990, he opened Mapp and Associates Realty, which continued until 2015.
EARLY YEARS
James R. Mapp was born in 1927 in Mayfield, Georgia, the oldest of two children of James Albert Mapp and Mattie L. Hargrove Mapp Davis. He moved to Chattanooga at age ten, where he attended public schools and quickly emerged as a strong student and natural leader.
At Howard High School, he served as Class President and graduated Valedictorian of the Class of 1947. Even as a teenager, Mapp demonstrated the courage and conviction that would define his life. At just sixteen and seventeen years old, he wrote letters to Chattanooga newspaper editors challenging racial inequality and calling for fairness in public life.
These early writings reveal a young man already committed to justice — a voice unafraid to speak truth, even when the risks were real.
Black History from a Personal Perspective — Episode 16 (Video Tribute)
Orchard Knob Missionary Baptist Church has been his spiritual home since 1940. He served as Usher, Choir President, Superintendent of Sunday School, Director of the Baptist Training Union, and Teacher. He continues to serve as a Trustee and was Chairman during the construction of the present church structure.
