Raleigh is the capital of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. Raleigh is the second-largest city in the state, after Charlotte. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees, which line the streets in the heart of the city. The city covers a land area of 142.8 square miles (370 km2). The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population as 479,332 as of July 1, 2018. It is one of the fastest-growing cities in the country. The city of Raleigh is named after Sir Walter Raleigh, who established the lost Roanoke Colony in present-day Dare County.
Durham is a city in and the county seat of Durham County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population to be 251,893 as of July 1, 2014, making it the 4th-most populous city in North Carolina, and the 78th-most populous city in the United States. Durham is the core of the four-county Durham-Chapel Hill Metropolitan Area, which has a population of 542,710 as of U.S. Census 2014 Population Estimates. The US Office of Management and Budget also includes Durham as a part of the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Combined Statistical Area, which has a population of 2,037,430 as of U.S. Census 2014 Population Estimates.
Henry McKinley "Mickey" Michaux Jr. is an American civil rights activist and former Democratic member of the North Carolina General Assembly, having represented the state's thirty-first House district from 1983 to 2019. He previously served from 1973 through 1977. The district includes constituents in Durham County. Upon his retirement, Michaux was the longest-serving member of the North Carolina General Assembly. In the 2007-2008 session, Michaux served as senior chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and chairman of the House Select Committee on Street Gang Prevention.
Benjamin Newton Duke was an American tobacco, textile and energy industrialist and philanthropist.
Jon Meade Huntsman Sr. was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was the founder and executive chairman of Huntsman Corporation, a global manufacturer and marketer of specialty chemicals. Huntsman plastics are used in a wide variety of familiar objects, including (formerly) McDonald's clamshell burger containers. Huntsman Corporation also manufactures a wide variety of organic and inorganic chemicals that include polyurethanes, textiles, and pigments. Huntsman's philanthropic giving exceeds $1.5 billion, focusing on areas of cancer research, programs at various universities, and aid to Armenia.
Julian Shakespeare Carr was a North Carolina industrialist, philanthropist, white supremacist, and Ku Klux Klan supporter. He was married to Nannie Carr, with whom he had two daughters and three sons.
Timothy B. Tyson is an American writer and historian from North Carolina who specializes in the issues of culture, religion and race associated with the Civil Rights Movement of the twentieth century. He has joint appointments at Duke University and the University of North Carolina. He has won numerous teaching awards, as well as recognition for creative and experimental courses. In one, he took students on a tour of sites of important civil rights events in the South.
John Merrick (1859–1919) was an African-American entrepreneur whose life represents a rags-to-riches story. Born into slavery in Clinton, North Carolina, Merrick relied on his social savvy, entrepreneurial spirit, and inner drive to achieve great personal wealth by founding various companies in the Raleigh, North Carolina and Durham, North Carolina areas, most notably the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company. Portions of his wealth were channeled back into the black community through philanthropy. John Merrick was a great man- his business acumen and social consciousness made him one of the most influential members of the African-American community in his lifetime.
Floyd Bixler McKissick Jr. is an American attorney and Democratic member of the North Carolina Senate. He was appointed to the Senate by Governor Mike Easley on April 18, 2007 to replace the late Jeanne Hopkins Lucas and was later elected and re-elected in his own right. In 2011, he became Deputy Minority Leader in the Senate and chairman of the North Carolina Legislative Black Caucus.
Mary Bonneau "Bonnie" McElveen-Hunter is an American businesswoman, philanthropist, and diplomat who is the first female Chair of the Board of Governors of the American Red Cross. She is the founder and CEO of Pace Communications, a content and integrated marketing agency, and was the U.S. Ambassador to Finland from 2001 to 2003. She also served as the finance chairwoman of Elizabeth Dole's campaign for the Republican nomination for U.S. President.
Larry Dwight Hall is a longtime member of the North Carolina House of Representatives who was appointed in 2017 to the position of Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Military and Veterans Affairs by Governor Roy Cooper.
James E. Shepard was an American pharmacist, civil servant and educator, the founder of what became the North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina. He first established it as a private school for religious training in 1910 but adapted it as a school for teachers. He had a network of private supporters, including northern white philanthropists such as Olivia Slocum Sage of New York.
Philip Berber is an Irish-born, Texas-based technology entrepreneur, now engaged in philanthropy, international aid, social entrepreneurship and impact investing. He sold CyBerCorp, his online brokerage for day traders, to Charles Schwab for $488m in 2000. He and his wife Donna then formed and funded A Glimmer of Hope, pledging $100 million of Schwab stock to endow the foundation.
George Watts Hill was an American banker, hospital administrator and philanthropist who played a key role in the socioeconomic development of Durham, North Carolina, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Research Triangle Park. He was also instrumental in health care reform, the desegregation of Durham, the education of children with learning disabilities, and the removal of the Speaker Ban Law.
Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans was an American heiress, activist, politician, and philanthropist. She was the granddaughter of Benjamin N. Duke and the great-granddaughter of Washington Duke, both tobacco and energy tycoons who helped start Duke University. Semans is remembered for her support and work towards promoting the arts and humanities through various philanthropic entities.
Hocutt v. Wilson, N.C. Super. Ct. (1933) (unreported), was the first attempt to desegregate higher education in the United States. It was initiated by two African American lawyers from Durham, North Carolina, Conrad O. Pearson and Cecil McCoy, with the support of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The case was ultimately dismissed for lack of standing, but it served as a test case for challenging the "separate but equal" doctrine in education and was a precursor to Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954).
NC Mutual is an American life insurance company located in downtown Durham, North Carolina and one of the most influential African-American businesses in United States history. Founded in 1898 by local black social leaders, its business increased from less than a thousand dollars in income in 1899 to a quarter of a million dollars in 1910. The company specialized in "industrial insurance," which was basically burial insurance. The company hired salesmen whose main job was to collect small payments to cover the insured person for the next week. If the person died while insured, the company immediately paid benefits of about 100 dollars. This covered the cost of a suitable funeral, which was a high prestige item in the black community. It began operations in the new tobacco manufacturing city of Durham, North Carolina, and moved north into Virginia and Maryland, then to major northern black urban centers, and then to the rest of the urban South.
William J. Barber II is an American Protestant minister and political activist. He is a member of the national board of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the chair of its Legislative Political Action Committee. Since 2006 he has been president of the NAACP's North Carolina state chapter, the largest in the Southern United States and the second-largest in the country. Barber has served as pastor of Greenleaf Christian Church in Goldsboro, North Carolina since 1993.
Robert Frederick Smith is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist. A former chemical engineer and investment banker, he is the founder, chairman, and CEO of private equity firm Vista Equity Partners. In 2018, Smith was ranked by Forbes as the 163rd richest person in America. He was No. 480 on Forbes 2018 list of the world's billionaires, with a net worth of US$4.4 billion. Smith was also included in Vanity Fair’s New Establishment List. In 2017, Smith was named by Forbes as one of the 100 greatest living business minds. In a 2018 cover story, Forbes declared Smith the wealthiest African-American, surpassing Oprah Winfrey.
