A mighty pen: Carter set example of integrity for journalists, citizens

Horace Carter was a warrior armed with a pen.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning UNC alumnus, credited with taking on the Ku Klux Klan — and winning — passed away this week at the age of 88.

While journalists around the country may remember Carter for this battle, the UNC community will also remember him for his kindness. Carter never forgot his roots. He was, as professor emeritus Thomas Bowers recalled, “always grateful to the University and to the department of journalism.”

In fact, he even donated his Pulitzer to the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Today, it serves as an inspiration to all who follow in his footsteps.

Friends and colleagues described him as “a truly exceptional, effective journalist” and “not just courageous, but accurate and feisty.”

While attending the University, he was the editor-in-chief of UNC’s student newspaper, which would later become The Daily Tar Heel. Here he discovered his passion for courageous journalism.

Upon graduating, he went straight to a small town called Tabor City and founded the city’s first newspaper, the Tabor City Tribune.

But just when things got settled, they came, rolling into Carter’s small town in a terrifying motorcade — the Klan.

Friend and dean emeritus of the journalism school Richard Cole said Carter “saw what was happening, knew in his heart it was dead wrong, and he wanted to fight it with all that he could muster.” And that he did.

Carter fought vigorously against the Klan by publishing front-page editorials on their despicable acts. In the end, he helped convict more than 100 Klansmen. It was the first time any had ever been punished.

But it wasn’t easy. He feared for his family and his own life.

For his daring efforts, Carter received the highest honor bestowed on a newsman — the Pulitzer Prize Gold Medal for meritorious public service.

According to Bowers, “if there is a Pulitzer Prize for journalism that is ranked above the others, it is the one Horace received.” To note, this achievement was the first for a weekly newspaper as well.

Carter’s achievements and generosity will never be forgotten on our campus. His legacy lives on through equality in the South and through all those that walk the halls of Carroll.