CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- North Carolina Representative Kelly Alexander Jr. from Charlotte describes his father as a civil rights crusader.

What You Need To Know


  • Kelly Alexander Sr. was the chairman of the NAACP during the civil rights movement.

  • He helped desegregate schools and motels in North Carolina.

  • Alexander's uncle, Fred D. Alexander, was the first African American to be elected to Charlotte City Council.

“I remember him as a person who spent his entire life fighting for equality,” Alexander Jr. said.

His father was Kelly Alexander Sr., who was elected president of the NAACP North Carolina State Conference in 1948. Under his leadership, it became the largest NAACP State Conference in the nation, with over 120 branches and 30,000 members.

He later became chairman of the national board, but it didn’t come without challenges.

“His house was bombed, my uncle’s house was bombed, and Julius Chambers, Mr. Hawkins, and a number of other people on the same night,” Alexander said.

Alexander said on Father’s Day he is remembering his father, his grandfather, and his uncle because without their courage and sacrifice, he wouldn’t be where he is today.

“You don’t get to this moment in time without what my grandfather did, what my father did, what my uncle did,” Alexander said. “My uncle was elected to the city council. He was the first Black person to win that election.”

He’s not just honoring his family though. He is also honoring all those fathers who took risks just to vote.

“You got ostracized, you opened yourself up to retaliation,” Alexander said. “That is something that is hard for people to understand now.”

Alexander said if his father was alive now he would be cheering on the George Floyd protesters, but he would also emphasize the need to do more.

“March, sing, wave signs all on the way to the polls,” Alexander said. “But go to the polls and vote.”

Kelly Alexander Sr. died on April 2, 1985 at the age of 69.