George Lee was a civil rights activist who was murdered in 1955 in Mississippi. He had received a threatening note demanding he remove his name from voter rolls after making a speech supporting civil rights. As a minister, entrepreneur, and vice president of the Regional Council of Negro Leadership, Lee worked to advance voting rights and civil rights for African Americans. Though his death did not generate as much outrage as Emmett Till's murder, Lee exemplified early civil rights activists who used business success to launch their activism and paved the way for future leaders by fighting for African American voices and voting rights.