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Henry Frye

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Henry Frye
Frye in 2015
Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court
In office
September 2, 1999 – January 1, 2001
Appointed byJim Hunt
Preceded byBurley Mitchell
Succeeded byI. Beverly Lake Jr.
Associate Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court
In office
January 13, 1983 – September 2, 1999
Appointed byJim Hunt
Preceded byJohn Phillips Carlton
Succeeded byFranklin Freeman
Member of the North Carolina Senate
from the 19th District
In office
January 1, 1981 – January 1, 1983
Preceded byJames Turner
Succeeded byElton Edwards
Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives
In office
January 1, 1969 – January 1, 1981
Preceded bySkipper Bowles
James G. Exum
Elton Edwards
Daniel Whitley Jr.
Succeeded byDorothy Rockwell Burnley
Constituency26th District (1969–1973)
23rd District (1973–1981)
Personal details
Born (1932-08-01) August 1, 1932 (age 92)
Richmond County, North Carolina, U.S.
SpouseShirley Taylor
Alma materNorth Carolina A&T State University
University of North Carolina School of Law
Occupationlawyer
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Air Force
RankCaptain

Henry E. Frye (born August 1, 1932) is an American judge and politician who served as the first African-American chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court.

Early life and education

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Henry Frye was born August 1, 1932, in Ellerbe, Richmond County, North Carolina.[1] He was 8th of 12 children, born to Walter Atlas and Pearl Motley Frye. His parents were tobacco and cotton farmers. He went to the Ellerbe Colored High School, but by accident he obtained a diploma from Ellerbe High School, the white one. After graduating with honors from North Carolina A&T State University, Frye reached the rank of captain in the United States Air Force, serving in Korea and Japan. Upon returning to North Carolina, Frye was inspired to become a lawyer when he was denied the ability to register to vote by literacy tests. He was the only African American in his law school, but despite this Frye mentions never feeling as if he was treated differently.[2] He graduated from the University of North Carolina School of Law.

Career

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Frye c. 1973

Frye became an assistant U.S. Attorney in 1963, one of the first African-Americans to hold such a position in the South.[3] Five years later, when Frye was elected to the North Carolina General Assembly as a state representative in 1968, he was the only black North Carolina legislator, and the first elected in the 20th century.[citation needed] He was sworn in to the North Carolina House of Representatives on January 15, 1969.[4] Frye helped eliminate the vestiges of Jim Crow from North Carolina law. He was re-elected several times to the state House, serving until 1980, and served one term in the state Senate from 1981 to 1982. During this time, he was also an instructor at North Carolina Central University's law school.

In 1983, Governor Jim Hunt appointed Frye to the North Carolina Supreme Court as an associate justice, the first African-American to hold that position in North Carolina history.[5] Frye was asked about his hopes for North Carolina's future, and said:

I would like to see North Carolina live up to is motto, to be rather than to seem. And by that I mean to do a better job of being fair and open in everything, from employment in the state government to encounters in the cities.[6]

Elected in 1984 to the court and re-elected in 1992, Jim Hunt appointed Frye to the state's highest judicial post, chief justice, in 1999 to replace the retiring Burley Mitchell. He was defeated for election to a full term in 2000 by Associate Justice I. Beverly Lake Jr.[5]

Frye's contemporaries noted his meticulous and curious working style: when beginning his political and judicial positions, he methodically studied up on state laws and court briefs, and he had a reputation for asking many probing questions. He enjoyed poetry and often incorporated poems, from others or written by himself, into speeches or tense moments.[6]

Frye switched to private practice in 2001, working with the firm Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard in Greensboro, North Carolina.[7] His specialties were mediation, commercial arbitration, and appellate advocacy. In 2016, he retired from the same firm.[8]

Awards and honors

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In 2006, Frye and his wife Shirley received the Justice Award from the American Judicature Society, their highest honor. The award was granted for their outstanding work to improve the administration of American justice.[9]

In 2007, Frye received the North Carolina Award for public service.[10] He also received the North Carolina Bar Association's highest award, the John J. Parker Award.[9]

In 2009, he became honorary co-chairman of the U.S. Senate campaign of Kenneth Lewis.[11] He was named chairman of the North Carolina Institute of Political Leadership in 2013.[12]

In 2014, the General Alumni Association had awarded Frye with the Distinguished Service Medal.[13]

In 2015 a portrait of him by Victoria Carlin Milstein was dedicated to him in the North Carolina Supreme Court. Jim Hunt, the governor who first appointed Frye, spoke during the ceremony, as well as Fourth Circuit Appeals Court Judge James Wynn Jr., and one of Frye's law partners, Jim Williams.[14] At the ceremony, Frye spoke of making progressive change, saying that the state had come a long way but had much further to go. He said that change only happens when people meet and work towards it, and he hoped "that we all will rededicate ourselves to making our state, and our country, the best that it can be."[15]

In 2016, the North Carolina Bar Association gave him an inaugural Legal Legends of Color Award. He later was chosen to speak for Elreta Alexander-Ralston's posthumous 2021 Legal Legends of Color Award.[16]

In 2017 he was invited to participate at the University of North Carolina School of Law's Constitution Day celebration.[17]

In 2018 a bridge was named in his honor.[18]

He has received honorary doctorates from Shaw University, Livingstone College, Fayetteville State University, and North Carolina A&T.[9]

Family

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Frye is married to Shirley Frye, a civil rights and social justice advocate who has won awards for her public service in local news, government, and educational organizations. In the 1970s, she lead the integration of Greensboro's two YWCAs.[19]

One of their children, Henry Frye Jr., also became a lawyer and judge.[20] Frye is the granduncle of professional basketball player Channing Frye.[21]

Electoral history

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2000

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North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice election, 2000[22]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican I. Beverly Lake Jr. 1,453,039 51.36%
Democratic Henry Frye (incumbent) 1,375,820 48.64%
Total votes 2,828,859 100%
Republican gain from Democratic

1984

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North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice (Frye seat) Democratic primary election, 1984[23]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Henry Frye (incumbent) 427,124 60.08%
Democratic Raymond Taylor 283,784 39.92%
Total votes 710,908 100%
North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice (Frye seat) election, 1984[24]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Henry Frye (incumbent) 1,105,152 54.74%
Republican Clarence Boyan 913,733 45.26%
Total votes 2,018,885 100%
Democratic hold
North Carolina House of Representatives
Preceded by
Skipper Bowles
James G. Exum
Elton Edwards
Daniel Whitley Jr.
 Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives
from the 26th district
1969–1973
Served alongside: William Marcus Short, Howard Coble, Robert Odell Payne, Charles Phillips, John Lawson Ridenour III, Clifton Tredway Hunt Jr., John McNeill Smith Jr. 		Succeeded by
Foyle Robert Hightower Jr.
Preceded by
Norwood Bryan Jr.
Joseph Bryant Raynor Jr.
Lewis Sneed High
Glenn Reginald Jernigan
 Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives
from the 23rd district
1973–1981
Served alongside: Thomas Odell Gilmore, Margaret Pollard Keesee, Robert Odell Payne, Charles Edward Webb, Charles Phillips, Thomas Sawyer, Leo Joseph Heer, William Marcus Short, James Franklin Morgan, Mary Powell Seymour, Howard Coble, Ralph Pearson Edwards, Byron Allen Haworth 		Succeeded by
Dorothy Rockwell Burnley
North Carolina Senate
Preceded by
James Turner
 Member of the North Carolina Senate
from the 19th district
1981–1983
Served alongside: Walter Carl Cockerham, Rachel Gillean Gray 		Succeeded by
Elton Edwards
Legal offices
Preceded by
John Phillips Carlton
 Associate Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court
1983–1999 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court
1999–2001 		Succeeded by

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Henry E. Frye (1932- ) - North Carolina History Project Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  2. ^ "Interview with Henry Ell Frye, February 18 and 26, 1992". University of North Carolina. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  3. ^ "Henry Ell Frye '59, Distinguished Service Medal Citation". Carolina Alumni Review. May 9, 2014. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  4. ^ Schlosser, Jim; Alexander, Dave (January 15, 1969). "Frye Takes Oath Of Office". The Greensboro Record. p. A1.
  5. ^ a b J.D. Lewis (2015). "Henry E. Frye 25th NC Supreme Court Chief Justice". carolana.com. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  6. ^ a b Wynn, James A. (2015-12-08). "Presentation of the Portrait of HENRY E. FRYE – REMARKS by JUDGE JAMES A. WYNN, JR" (PDF). North Carolina Judicial Branch. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
  7. ^ "Good lawyers must be care about people, be trustworthy, Frye says during Bryan Lecture". Elon University. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  8. ^ "Henry Frye Retires After Historic Legal Career". Brooks Pierce. 2016-03-21. Retrieved 2025-01-03.
  9. ^ a b c "Prior Honorees – 2016 - Former Chief Justice Henry Frye". North Carolina Bar Association. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
  10. ^ Mitchell and Frye recognized Archived October 24, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ Frye gets behind Lewis for Senate Archived March 4, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ IOPL Announces Former Chief Justice Henry Frye as New Chairman of the Board of Directors Archived July 8, 2013, at archive.today
  13. ^ "GAA Awards Five Distinguished Service Medals". May 9, 2014. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  14. ^ "Portrait of Former Chief Justice Henry Frye Dedicated at Supreme Court". December 8, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  15. ^ Frye, Henry E. (2015-12-08). "Presentation of the Portrait of HENRY E. FRYE – REMARKS by CHIEF JUSTICE HENRY E. FRYE" (PDF). North Carolina Judicial Branch. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
  16. ^ Rawlings, Russell (2021-08-17). "2021 Legal Legends of Color: Judge Elreta Melton Alexander". North Carolina Bar Association. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
  17. ^ "University Hosts Former N.C. Chief Justice Henry E. Frye '59 for Constitution Day, Sept. 18". University of North Carolina School of Law. September 11, 2017. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  18. ^ C.K. Craven (January 24, 2018). "TOP STORY: Ellerbe Native and Former N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Henry Frye has Local Bridge". The Richmond Observer. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  19. ^ "Chief Justice Henry and Shirley Frye". North Carolina Justice Center. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
  20. ^ Biographical Conversations with Henry Frye
  21. ^ Larry Keech (March 17, 2004). "Fryes to Miss Chance for Family Reunion Channing Frye Plays in Raleigh Today, but his Great Uncle, Henry Frye, Will be in Florida on Business". Greensboro.com. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  22. ^ "NC Chief Justice". Our Campaigns. June 19, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  23. ^ "NC - Asc Justice of Sup Ct - D Primary". Our Campaigns. April 17, 2023. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  24. ^ "NC - Asc Justice of Sup Ct". Our Campaigns. April 17, 2023. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
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