Howard Lee will discuss his book "The Courage to Lead" on "North Carolina Bookwatch" Sunday at 5 p.m. on UNC-TV.
On May 6, 1969, 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 1976, Lee ran for lieutenant governor of North Carolina but lost in the primary. That fall, Gov. 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.
"The Courage to Lead" explores his life, from growing up on a sharecropper's farm in Georgia during segregation to his long and respected political tenure in North Carolina.
Book club to discuss Lee's 'Mockingbird'
Books Sandwiched In, a book discussion group sponsored by The Friends of the Chapel Hill Public Library, will discuss Harper Lee's classic novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" Sept. 2. The club is free and open to the public and meets the first Wednesday of most months at 11:30 a.m. in the conference room of the Chapel Hill Public Library, 100 Library Drive.
Participants may bring a lunch and share thoughts on the current reading selection.
