I. Beverly Lake Sr.

A graduate of Wake Forest College and Harvard Law School, Lake joined the staff of North Carolina Attorney General Harry McMullan in 1950.

When the United States Supreme Court invited North Carolina to appear as amicus curiae in the famous Brown v. Board of Education case in 1954, Lake argued against it, telling the governor that it was a "diabolical scheme" designed to subject the state directly to whatever orders the Court issued as a consequence of the decision.

[1] The governor nevertheless decided to file an amicus brief, and Lake presented the state's case in defense of segregation before the Supreme Court during hearings over "Brown II".

Now in private practice, Lake remained coy but continued to assist segregationist efforts, attacking the sitting governor, Luther Hodges, for caving in to national pressure to adopt a moderate course and preparing a bill for the North Carolina General Assembly that would have amended the state's constitution to remove the requirement for a system of publicly funded schools.

The entry of the state's moderate attorney-general, Malcolm Seawell into the race, along with the start of the lunch-counter demonstrations in Greensboro caused Lake to change his mind, and he announced his candidacy for the office.