James R. Gorham, Brig. General (Ret) North Carolina National Guard

A Sharecropper’s Wisdom: Growing Today’s Leaders the Old Fashioned Way

General J.R. Gorham applied Daddy’s sharecropper wisdom and became the first African-American Brigadier General of the North Carolina National Guard, Vice President of First Citizens Bank in Kernersville and the Commissioner of Juvenile Justice in the North Carolina Department of Public Safety. A graduate of East Carolina University, J.R. married his college sweetheart Barbara Jean Battle and became Daddy to Tony, Jamie, and Joshua. J.R.’s extraordinary wealth of personal experiences and education, coupled with his warm, Southern charm, makes J.R. a favorite motivational and leadership speaker with young people and business leaders.