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This collection has access restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
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Collection Overview
| Size | 7.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 3000 items) |
| Abstract | The collection of Howard Lee (1934- ), African American politician, social worker, and public officer in North Carolina from the late 1960s through the early 2000s, is primarily composed of correspondence, written speeches and addresses, newspaper clippings, photographs, campaign materials, and audio recordings of speeches. The collection documents Lee's tenure as the first black mayor of Chapel Hill, N.C.; his campaigns for public office including the Chapel Hill mayoral office, North Carolina statewide offices, and a United States congressional seat; his role and more generally the limited role of African Americans in the North Carolina Democratic Party; and his extensive career as a public speaker on topics of social welfare and reform, African American political and civic leadership, economic conditions and poverty, social work, institutional racism and race relations, public schools and education, and civil rights and social justice. Scattered materials reflect his early social work career as a probation officer for a juvenile court in Savannah, Ga. The collection also contains a few family photographs and a small amount of material related to Lee's songwriting including audio recordings. Acquired as part of the Southern Historical Collection. |
| Creator | Lee, Howard, 1934- |
| Language | English |
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Information For Users
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Subject Headings
The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
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Biographical Information
| 1934 | Born 28 July 1934 in Lithonia, Ga. His parents Howard Lee and Lou Temple were sharecroppers. |
| 1953 | Graduated from high school and enrolled in Clark College in Atlanta, Ga. |
| 1959 | Graduated from Fort Valley State College where he had transferred in 1956. In the summer, he completed basic training in the United States Army. |
| 1959-1961 | Stationed in Fort Hood, Tex., and later Camp Casey in South Korea. |
| 1961 | Received an honorable discharge from the Army. |
| 1962 | Married Lillian Wesley. Lee worked as a juvenile probation officer in Savannah, Ga. |
| 1966 | Received a master’s degree (MSW) from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Social Work and joined the staff of Duke University and the faculty of North Carolina Central University. |
| 1969 | Elected as the first African American mayor of the predominantly white town of Chapel Hill, N.C. |
| 1971 | Reelected as mayor. |
| 1972 | Ran for the United States Congress in North Carolina’s Second Congressional District and lost the election. |
| 1973 | Reelected as mayor. |
| 1975 | Did not seek reelection as mayor. |
| 1976 | Sought the Democratic Party nomination for lieutenant governor of North Carolina but lost in the primary. |
| 1977-1981 | Served as Secretary of North Carolina Department of Natural Resources and Community Development, an appointment made by Governor James Hunt. |
| 1990 | Elected to the North Carolina State Senate in which he served from 1990 to 1994 and then again from 1996 to 2002. |
| 2003 | Elected to be chairman of the North Carolina State Board of Education. |
| 2005 | Appointed to the North Carolina Utilities Commission by Governor Mike Easley. |
| 2008 | Published his memoir The Courage to Lead: One Man's Journey in Public Service. |
| 2009 | Appointed to the North Carolina Education Cabinet by Governor Beverly Perdue. |
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Scope and Content
The collection is primarily composed of Howard Lee's political correspondence from the late 1960s and 1970s, speeches both written and recorded, newspaper clippings, and photographs. The majority of the materials document Lees's tenure as mayor of Chapel Hill, N.C., political campaigns, and speaking engagements. The collection as a whole reflects his social, economic, and political concerns and his ethos of social justice.
The collection is arranged into three series:
Series one contains office files, chiefly correspondence, from Lee's tenure as the mayor of Chapel Hill, N.C., from 1969 to 1975. These files reflect the concerns of Lee's constituents; town and gown relations with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Lee's role in the North Carolina Democratic Party and the limited roles for African Americans in the state's Democratic Party; and municipal and social welfare problems of that era and the corresponding reform and improvement efforts. Notable correspondents include President Gerald Ford, civil rights leader Coretta Scott King, and African American civic leader and North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Co. executive in Durham, N.C., A.J.H. Clement, III. Political campaign materials document Lee's runs for mayor of Chapel Hill in 1969, 1971, and 1973, the congressional seat for North Carolina's second district in 1972, North Carolina's lieutenant governor in 1976, and the North Carolina state senate in the 1990s and early 2000s. Materials include campaign speeches, campaign platforms, clippings, audio recordings of news conferences and radio advertisements, photographs of Lee with other political figures and on the campaign trail, campaign finance reports, and campaign literature and ephemera such as brochures, bumper stickers, pin back buttons, and posters. Also contained in the series are photographs of UNC Chapel Hill basketball coach and civil rights proponent Dean Smith and Secretary of State, Edmund Muskie, and a small number of items pertaining to Lee's tenure with the North Carolina Department of Natural Resources and Community Development and the North Carolina State Board of Education.
Series two contains handwritten and typescript drafts of speeches and addresses, especially for commencement ceremonies, composed by Lee and audio recordings and photographs of Lee delivering speeches. Also included are printed items and other materials such as stories, poems, and biblical verses he used in writing speeches, programs from events where he spoke, and correspondence concerning his speaking engagements. Recurring themes in the speeches are black leadership, black elected officials, black power, social work, public service, politics, social revolution, poverty, inequality, coalition building, and racism and race relations between blacks and whites both historically and contemporaneously. Other topics addressed in speeches include Lee's own stories from his past, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s legacy, affirmative action, education and public schools, desegregation, African American businesses, municipal governance, health care, welfare and welfare reform, tokenism, the death penalty, black churches, community organizing, and the Vietnam War.
Series three contains contains scattered correspondence pertaining to Lee's employment as a juvenile probation officer and social worker, his songwriting and fiction writing, his professional writing as a social worker, and the publication of his memoir titled The Courage to Lead: One Man's Journey in Public Service. Other materials are audio recordings of Lee's songs, sheet music for a song by Lee, stories, poetry, and articles written by Lee, newspaper clippings, his high school year book, family photographs, and certificates for awards Lee was given.
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Series 1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010.
This series contains office files, chiefly correspondence, from Lee's tenure as the mayor of Chapel Hill, N.C., from 1969 to 1975. These files reflect the concerns of Lee's constituents; town and gown relations with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Lee's role in the North Carolina Democratic Party and the limited roles for African Americans in the state's Democratic Party; and municipal and social welfare problems of that era and the corresponding reform and improvement efforts. Notable correspondents include President Gerald Ford, civil rights leader Coretta Scott King, and African American civic leader and North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Co. executive in Durham, N.C., A.J.H. Clement, III.
Political campaign materials document Lee's runs for mayor of Chapel Hill in 1969, 1971, and 1973, the congressional seat for North Carolina's second district in 1972, North Carolina's lieutenant governor in 1976, and the North Carolina state senate in the 1990s and early 2000s. Materials include campaign speeches, campaign platforms, clippings, audio recordings of news conferences and radio advertisements, photographs of Lee with other political figures and on the campaign trail, campaign finance reports, and campaign literature and ephemera such as brochures, bumper stickers, pin back buttons, and posters.
Also contained in the series are photographs of UNC Chapel Hill basketball coach and civil rights proponent Dean Smith and Secretary of State, Edmund Muskie, and a small number of items pertaining to Lee's tenure with the North Carolina Department of Natural Resources and Community Development and the North Carolina State Board of Education.
| Folder 1 |
Mayor's office files, 1969 #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." Folder 1Topics include town and gown relations with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; membership in the Southern Regional Council; and drug use in Chapel Hill, N.C. |
| Folder 2-6 |
Mayor's office files, 1970 #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." Folder 2-6Topics include UNC student protests against Vietnam War; staffing in the mayor's office; proposal for an Orange County Council of Governments; extension of the 1965 Voting Rights Act; public transportation and parking in Chapel Hill; proposal for a Town-Gown Commission with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; proposed teen center in Chapel Hill; the 1970 U.S. Census; constituents' concerns; Lee's Equal Opportunity Award from the National Urban League; pollution in Morgan Creek and other parts of Chapel Hill; and the North Carolina Democratic Party. Contains a mayoral proclamation announcing Martin Luther King, Jr., Day on 15 January 1970. |
| Folder 7-11 |
Mayor's office files, 1971 #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." Folder 7-11Topics include the United Voter Movement; federal funding; housing and neighborhood development; the American Legion's efforts on behalf of American POWs in Southeast Asia; the Cooperative School for Pregnant School Girls in Durham, N.C.; North Carolina Democratic Party; hitchhiking in Chapel Hill; domestic violence and the Chapel Hill Police Department; the Orange County Board of Elections; pollution in Morgan Creek and other parts of Chapel Hill; and sidewalk vending in Chapel Hill. |
| Folder 12-24 |
Mayor's office files, 1972 #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." Folder 12-24Topic include sidewalk vending in Chapel Hill; town and gown relations with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; solid waste recycling program and pollution; the Human Relations Committee; need for a community hospital in Chapel Hill; North Carolina's Second Congressional District and the congressional election; housing in Chapel Hill for limited income families; the North Carolina Health Manpower Program; cable television in Chapel Hill; zoning ordinances, noise ordinances, parking regulations, and traffic in Chapel Hill; the Drug Action Committee and drug abuse; Chapel Hill Housing Authority; Mayor's Commission on the Status of Women; parks and recreation; North Carolina Miss Black America Pageant; National Urban League; National Conference on Social Welfare; emergency preparedness; Democratic National Convention; Chapel Hill Historic District; WRAL televised editorials; Black Political Caucus; Rogers Road community and the adjacent landfill; Hargrove "Skipper" Bowles gubernatorial campaign; penal reform; working conditions in the Chapel Hill Police Department; election of Jesse Helms to the United States Senate; North Carolina Voter Education Project; Community Youth Rehabilitation Program; and Lee's support for dredging Calico Creek in Carteret County, N.C. |
| Folder 25-39 |
Mayor's office files, 1973 #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." Folder 25-39Topics include business franchises such as Holiday Inn and Coors beer; Southern Black Mayors Conference; business and investments in Haiti; planning process for the University Mall; the Calico Creek Harbor Project; North Carolina Committee for Children and Youth; North Carolina Democratic Party; constituents' concerns including dog leash and noise ordinances and traffic patterns; equal opportunities for African Americans in the North Carolina Democratic Party; the Equal Rights Amendment; National Conference on Social Welfare; Central Business District Committee; Work Incentive Program (WIN) in Orange County, N.C.; Chapel Hill roads; Manpower Resource Mobilization Project; establishment of a Department of Human Services; energy conservation; University Mall; pollution and drinking water; minority recruitment by Duke University's medical school; and land use and development. Of interest is a letter dated 19 March 1973 and written to Lee from A.J.H. Clement, III., of the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company. In the letter, Clement explains his objections to the North Carolina Democratic Party's Jefferson-Jackson Dinner and the limited participation of blacks in the Party. "I fail to see how any self-respecting Black person or Caucasian for that matter - who is dedicated to the cause of Justice and Fairness for all people - can come to Raleigh this Saturday and worship at the facsimile of a shrine of Slavemasters and/or Hypocrites." |
| Folder 40-62 |
Mayor's office files, 1974 #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." Folder 40-62Topics include transportation, traffic, and the bus system in Chapel Hill; parks and recreation; North Carolina Democratic Party; gasoline shortages and the energy crisis; National Association of Social Workers; Department of Human Services; Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Social Change symposium on "After Watergate - The New Political Agenda"; Southern Railway Terminal Building in Carrboro, N.C.; Drug Action Committee and drug abuse; establishment of a volunteer center for Orange County, N.C.; solid waste recycling; Southern Conference of Black Mayors; sidewalk or street vending; Chapel Hill Housing Authority; mental health of minority groups; building codes and federal regulations as related to "handicapped" persons with disabilities; Conference on Hunger; pine beetle infestation; waste water treatment; the Hatch Act; Carol Woods project; New Housing & Community Development Act of 1974; possible presidential candidacy of Terry Sanford; Minority Business Association of Chapel Hill and Carrboro, N.C.; Chapel Hill Training and Outreach Project's proposal to examine child abuse and neglect; and UNC Airport (now Horace Williams Airport). Of note is a 19 September 1974 letter from President Gerald Ford concerning a Conference on Inflation. |
| Folder 63-95 |
Mayor's office files, 1975 #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." Folder 63-95Topics include Sister Cities International; bus system in Chapel Hill and mass transit; Committee on Aging; HUD Housing Assistance Program; constituents' concerns including trash collection, parking, and traffic; Committee for the Study of a Fair Campaign Practice Code; Lee's potential candidacy for lieutenant governor of North Carolina; recognition of Martin Luther King, Jr.; regional planning; presidential candidacy of Terry Sanford; Chapel Hill's landfill; Community Blood Assurance Plan for Chapel Hill and Carrboro; water supply and waste water treatment; Joan Little; damage to plots in the old Chapel Hill Cemetery; Research Triangle Business Resource Center; Special Task Force on Community Health in Orange County; study on Rural Health Care; housing for elderly; television program "On Campus" hosted by Lee; National Association of Social Workers; the American Association of University Women's "Roster of Highly Qualified Women in the Triangle Area of North Carolina"; solid waste recycling; North Carolina Democratic Party; Legal Aid Society; North Carolina Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers Association's Economic Development Plan; Human Relations Commission; day care; National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP); University of North Carolina's operation and maintenance of an electric distribution center (power plant); and Lee's campaign for lieutenant governor of North Carolina. A number of constituent letters in the month of August 1975 are from Chapel Hill High School students. Of interest is a lengthy letter dated 1 June 1975 from a blind resident of Chapel Hill, who describes his safety concerns and the lack of enforcement of crosswalk laws. |
| Folder 96 |
Mayor's office files, 1969-1973 #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." Folder 96Topics include black businessmen, the Black Caucus, and black members of the North Carolina State Democratic Party. |
| Folder 97 |
Mayor's office files, undated #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." Folder 97"A Statement from Mayor Howard N. Lee at the Formal Opening of the Ridgefield Town Houses." |
| Folder 98 |
Mayor's office files, undated #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." Folder 98The "Day Care Section" of the Chapel Hill Town Charter. |
| Folder 99 |
Mayor's office files, undated #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." Folder 99"Mayor's Message on Revenue Sharing." |
| Folder 100 |
Mayor's office files, undated #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." Folder 100Templates for certificates. |
| Folder 101 |
Mayor's office files, undated #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." Folder 101Editorials possibly delivered on WRAL. |
| Folder 102 |
Mayoral campaigns, 1969 #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." Folder 102"Preserving the best and Improving the Rest, A Statement by Howard N. Lee, Candidate for Mayor." |
| Folder 103 |
Mayoral campaigns, 1969 #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." Folder 103Printed campaign materials. |
| Folder 104 |
Mayoral campaigns, 1969 #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." Folder 104Proposed platform. |
| Folder 105-106 |
Mayoral campaigns, 1969 #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." Folder 105-106Congratulatory letters, cards, and telegrams. |
| Audiocassette C-05609/3 |
Speeches and radio advertisements, 1969-1976 #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." C-05609/3Side A: "1970 speech, Chapel Hill High School Commencement, radio advertisements 1976 lieutenant governor campaign, 1969 radio advertisements for mayor campaign, 1969 news clips for mayor campaign." Side B: "speech (campaign) C. M. Jaycee 3 April 1969, swearing in ceremony for Howard N. Lee and his swearing in speech, 12 May 1969, 7:30 p.m., Chapel Hill Town Hall." |
| Folder 107 |
Mayor's installation speech, 1969 #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." Folder 107
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| Folder 108-109 |
Mayoral campaigns, 1971 #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." Folder 108-109Includes a printed letter from Lee and typed statements about his record in office. |
| Folder 110-111 |
Acceptance speech for third mayoral term, 1973 #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." Folder 110-111
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| Image Folder PF-5609/1 |
Howard Lee mayoral campaign, 1969 and 1971 #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." PF-5609/15 images
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| Image Folder PF-5609/2 |
Howard Lee mayoral campaign, 1969 and 1971 #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." PF-5609/21 image
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| Image Folder PF-5609/3 |
Howard Lee being sworn in as mayor, 1969 #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." PF-5609/32 images
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| Image Folder PF-5609/4 |
Howard Lee mayoral portrait, 1970s #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." PF-5609/42 images
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| Image Folder PF-5609/5 |
Howard Lee as politician, 1970s [?] #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." PF-5609/53 images
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| Image Folder PF-5609/6 |
Howard Lee talking to constituents, circa 1970s #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." PF-5609/68 images
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| Folder 112-113 |
Statement on election intentions, 1975 #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." Folder 112-113"I have asked you here so that I might announce my decision regarding another term as mayor." |
| Folder 114-129 |
Congressional campaign, 1972 #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." Folder 114-129Includes campaign finance materials, opposition research, printed items, correspondence, mailing lists, and campaign speeches. |
| Oversize Paper Folder OPF-5609/1 |
Congressional campaign, 1972 #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." OPF-5609/1Printed campaign posters and calendars |
| Folder 130-135 |
Lieutenant governor campaign, 1976 #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." Folder 130-135Includes campaign speeches, press releases, Lee's educational platform, newspaper clippings, and a biographical sketch. |
| Audiocassette C-05609/8 |
Lee family interviews on election night, lieutenant governor campaign, 17 August 1976 #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." C-05609/8
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| Audiocassette C-05609/9 |
News conference, lieutenant governor campaign, 1976 #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." C-05609/9"Criminal justice." |
| Audiocassette C-05609/10 |
News conference, lieutenant governor campaign, 1976 #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." C-05609/10"Industrial recruiting." |
| Folder 136 |
North Carolina Department of Natural Resources and Community Development, 1979-1981 #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." Folder 136Scattered documents include a memorandum from North Carolina Governor James Hunt about the Disciples of Education Program. |
| Image Folder PF-5609/7 |
Howard Lee being sworn in, 1977 #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." PF-5609/77 images Secretary of North Carolina Department of Natural Resources and Community Development. |
| Audiocassette C-05609/52 |
Speech by Howard Lee after losing North Carolina Senate race, 2002 #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." C-05609/52
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| Image Folder PF-5609/8 |
Howard Lee being sworn into government office, 1970s - 1980s [?] #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." PF-5609/81 image
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| Image Folder PF-5609/9 |
Howard Lee and other politicians, 1970s #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." PF-5609/93 images
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| Image Folder PF-5609/10 |
Howard Lee as politician, 1980s [?] #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." PF-5609/102 images
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| Image Folder PF-5609/11 |
Howard Lee with Terry Sanford and Jim Hunt, 1992 #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." PF-5609/111 image
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| Image Folder PF-5609/12 |
Howard Lee campaigning for North Carolina Senate, 1990s #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." PF-5609/122 images
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| Folder 137 |
North Carolina State Senate campaign, 1996 #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." Folder 137Printed items and speech. |
| Folder 138 |
North Carolina State Senate election, 2000 #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." Folder 138Certificate. |
| Folder 139 |
North Carolina State Board of Education, 2007-2010 #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." Folder 139
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| Image Folder PF-5609/13 |
Howard Lee and other politicians, 2000s - 2010s #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." PF-5609/135 images
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| Image Folder PF-5609/14 |
Edmund Muskie, 1970s #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." PF-5609/141 image
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| Image Folder PF-5609/15 |
Dean Smith, 1990s #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." PF-5609/151 image
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| Folder 140-145 |
Clippings, 1969-2009 and undated #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." Folder 140-145
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| Oversize Paper Folder OPF-5609/2 |
Clippings, 1969-1980 and undated #05609, Series: "1. Politics and Public Office, 1969-2010." OPF-5609/2
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Series 2. Speaking Engagements, 1959-1999.
This series contains handwritten and typescript drafts of speeches and addresses, especially for commencement ceremonies, composed by Lee and audio recordings and photographs of Lee delivering speeches. Also included are printed items and other materials such as stories, poems, and biblical verses he used in writing speeches, programs from events where he spoke, and correspondence concerning his speaking engagements. Recurring themes in the speeches are black leadership, black elected officials, black power, social work, public service, politics, social revolution, poverty, inequality, coalition building, and racism and race relations between blacks and whites both historically and contemporaneously. Other topics addressed in speeches include Lee's own stories from his past, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s legacy, affirmative action, education and public schools, desegregation, African American businesses, municipal governance, health care, welfare and welfare reform, tokenism, the death penalty, black churches, community organizing, and the Vietnam War.
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Series 3. Social Work, Family, Writing, and Awards, 1949-2008.
This series contains scattered correspondence pertaining to Lee's employment as a juvenile probation officer and social worker, his songwriting and fiction writing, his professional writing as a social worker, and the publication of his memoir titled The Courage to Lead: One Man's Journey in Public Service. Other materials are audio recordings of Lee's songs, sheet music for a song by Lee, stories, poetry, and articles written by Lee, newspaper clippings, his high school year book, family photographs, and certificates for awards Lee was given.
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Items Separated
Processed by: Laura Hart and Amy Morgan, August 2017
Updated by: Dawne Howard Lucas, May 2021
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