Black leadership rooted in Orange County

Local black politicians helped shape what is often touted as one of America’s most progressive communities.

Chapel Hill led the way for Southern towns in giving African Americans a chance to participate in area politics — something some other North Carolina municipalities would not do until years later.

On May 6, 1969, Chapel Hill voters elected Howard Lee as the first black mayor of a predominantly white Southern town.

According to an article in the May 7, 1969, edition of The Daily Tar Heel, Lee defeated Roland Giduz — a white candidate — for the post.

Nearly 4,800 residents cast their ballots on Election Day that year. At the time, it was the largest voter turnout in town history.

Lee received strong support in virtually all of the voting districts, including Giduz’s home precinct, the article stated.

An article appearing the same day in The Chapel Hill Weekly stated that Lee received harassing phone calls and sharp criticism from community members upset with his victory.

“Any black man elevated to this position is going to undergo more pressures than any white man,” Lee said in the article.

His victory came four years before Clarence Lightner was elected as Raleigh’s first black mayor.

Ten years after Lightner’s election, Harvey Gantt was elected to serve as Charlotte’s first black mayor — a post no other black man has held since.

Gantt said Lee was an inspiration to him and other aspiring black politicians of the time who had heard of Lee’s work.

“We really admired his candidacy back then,” Gantt said. “We said if Howard Lee can do it in Chapel Hill, then maybe we can do it, too.”

During his administration, Lee was credited with improving water and sewer lines in the historically black Northside neighborhood.

Before he left office in 1975, Lee also led the charge to establish the town’s transit system.

But Fred Battle, president of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said that while bringing the transit system to town was Lee’s most notable feat, he accomplished much more.

Battle said Lee was instrumental in bringing federal Housing and Urban Development personnel to town to fight for affordable housing for low-income families.

“He gave something very significant, not only in the community, but at the state level as well,” Battle said.

Lee also served as a Cabinet member under North Carolina Gov. Jim Hunt and as a state senator.

And his work has not gone unnoticed.

Last month, the Town Council accepted a petition from Mayor Kevin Foy and Mayor Pro Tem Edith Wiggins to rename Town Hall after Lee and his wife, Lillian.

Wiggins pointed to Lee’s promotion of Chapel Hill’s reputation as a liberal and open community as a reason she considers him a local political icon.

“His leadership and his vision for Chapel Hill were not just about this small little University community, but it was also to bring (the town) into the 20th century,” she said.

But Lee was not the only local black leader to leave a mark on Chapel Hill.

Hubert Samuel Robinson Sr. was elected in 1953 as Chapel Hill’s first black alderman, serving in that capacity for 12 years.

But Robinson’s past differed from that of many politicians.

Before being elected to serve as an alderman — the name for members of town council at the time — Robinson was a butler and chauffeur for then-University President Frank Porter Graham.

And the local political arena was not only affected by men — black women also have made an impact.

Barbara Booth-Powell was appointed to the town council in 1992 and elected the following year.

Booth-Powell graduated from Lincoln High School in 1955, the all-black high school of the time, and like Lee, she fought on behalf of Northside residents.

In 1996, when Booth-Powell passed away in the middle of her term, town council members turned to another black woman to fill her seat — Wiggins.

Wiggins described her predecessor as “quiet and reflective.”

Wiggins, who had previously served two terms on the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education, was elected to the council in 1997 and was re-elected in 2001.

She said she unknowingly began her political career when she started to sound off on issues that were affecting her children.

“I had no idea it would eventually lead to a political career,” she said.

Battle said area black politicians like Wiggins helped achieve greater equality in local government.

“It takes (diversity) to get everyone’s perspective,” he said.

Wiggins said it is important to keep that diversity and perspective in local politics in the future, and she challenges African Americans to get involved in political office.

“I would like to see more young African Americans coming along to take the place of (older politicians).”

City Editor Ryan C. Tuck contributed to this article.

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.