Howard Lee Shares His Book, The Courage to Lead
On North Carolina Bookwatch, Sunday, August 23, at 5 PM

On May 6, 1969, Howard Lee made history when he was elected the first black mayor of a predominantly white town in the South. Chapel Hill was home to the prestigious University of North Carolina, but only 10 percent of the town's 12,500 permanent residents were black, and only half of those were even registered to vote. In a surprising upset, Lee changed history.

In 1976, Lee ran for lieutenant governor of North Carolina. During the Democratic primary, he was the victim of subtle racial appeals, including a rumor that said if he were elected, blacks would hire an assassin to kill the governor, making Lee governor. He lost the primary. That fall, Governor Jim Hunt appointed Lee to the position of secretary of the Department of Natural and Economic Resources, making him the first black member of a governor's cabinet in the South.

In an all-new episode of UNC-TV’s local literary series North Carolina Bookwatch with D.G. Martin, premiering Sunday, August 23, at 5 PM, Howard Lee shares his new book, The Courage to Lead, exploring his storied life, from growing up on a sharecropper's farm in Georgia during segregation to his long and respected political tenure in North Carolina.

“It amazes me even today when I look back on that time and being elected mayor of Chapel Hill,” says Lee. “I absolutely thought I didn’t have a chance to win…but then I found out on election night that I would have to carry out the many promises I made.  Being the mayor of Chapel Hill is the highlight and being able to follow the progress of Chapel Hill is one of the great remembrances that I will carry with me.”

In addition to being elected the first black mayor of Chapel Hill, Howard Lee then went on to serve thirteen years in the North Carolina Senate. In his memoir The Courage to Lead, Lee shares not only his life story but also sheds light on how he achieved these goals.

Don’t miss DG Martin’s all-new interview with Howard Lee on North Carolina Bookwatch, Sunday, August 23, at 5 PM, only on UNC-TV!

During the 26-week season of North Carolina Bookwatch, guests will also include:  John Shelton Reed and Dale Volberg Reed (Holy Smoke), Justin Catanoso (My Cousin the Saint), Todd Johnson (The Sweet By and By), Michael Walden (North Carolina in the Connected Age), Barbara Fredrickson (Positivity), Michael Davis (Street Gang), Dan Ariely (Predictably Irrational), Marianne Gingher (Adventures in Pen Land), and Dan Barefoot (Hark the Sound of Tar Heel Voices).

For additional information about series guests and airdates, plus links to the Bookwatch blog and online book club, please visit: www.unctv.org/ncbookwatch.

Funding for North Carolina Bookwatch is provided by UNC-TV members and by Quail Ridge Books and Music, Raleigh’s independent, full service bookstore, bringing readers and writers together since 1984.

North Carolina Bookwatch is part of UNC-TV’s ongoing commitment to produce programs for and about North Carolina. UNC-TV is the statewide 11-station broadcast network of the University of North Carolina. For more information, please visit www.unctv.org/ncbookwatch.

For more information about North Carolina Bookwatch and UNC-TV’s other original productions, please visit our website at www.unctv.org.