Frederick D. Alexander facts for kids

Frederick Douglas Alexander (born February 21, 1910 – died April 13, 1980) was an important American businessman, civil rights leader, and politician. He was from Charlotte, North Carolina. In 1965, he was elected to the Charlotte City Council. This was a big deal because he was the first African American to serve on the council since the 1890s. He was re-elected many times, serving until 1974. That year, he was elected to the State Senate, where he served until 1980. Alexander was also very active in local businesses, community groups, and civil rights efforts. He became known as a fair and balanced leader.

At the start of the 1900s, North Carolina passed laws that made it very hard for African Americans to vote. These laws kept them out of the political system for many decades. However, in cities like Charlotte, these rules started to ease up even before new national civil rights laws were passed in the mid-1960s.

Early Life and Education

Frederick Alexander was born in Charlotte, North Carolina. His father, Zechariah Alexander, was a well-known African-American businessman. He managed the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company and owned the Alexander Funeral Home. Frederick's brother, Kelly Alexander, later became a national leader for the NAACP.

Frederick Alexander finished high school at Charlotte's Second Ward High School in 1926. He then went to Lincoln University of Pennsylvania. This was a historically black college. After graduating in 1931, Alexander returned to Charlotte. He began working at his father's funeral home.

Political Career and Civil Rights

Besides working in his family's business, Frederick Alexander also became active in politics. He started by helping to organize voter registration drives. These drives encouraged African Americans in Charlotte to sign up to vote. In 1900, North Carolina had created a new state constitution. This constitution made it very difficult for black citizens to register and vote. This was done to stop them from having a say in politics.

By Alexander's time, some cities like Charlotte had become a bit more flexible. They allowed some educated African Americans to register as voters. During the Great Depression, new chances opened up for African Americans. Alexander worked to get black people hired as city police officers and US mail carriers. He strongly believed in education. He pushed for business classes in black high schools, which were segregated at the time. He also worked for better health care in the community.

Even though police and postal jobs were supposed to be open to everyone, Charlotte had kept them mostly for white people. The first black policemen were not hired until 1941. They were put in a special group and were not allowed to carry weapons. By 1948, six more black officers were hired. This happened because World War II veterans in Charlotte pushed for change. These new officers were treated like regular civil service officers.

In 1948, Alexander helped start the Citizens Committee for Political Action in Charlotte. He served as its executive secretary. That year, the committee supported two African-American candidates. They ran for the school board and city council. However, in 1932, the city council had changed how these positions were elected. They switched from single-member districts to at-large voting. This change happened after a black man almost won a seat from a district where most people were black. With at-large voting, candidates needed support from most voters across the entire city. Since two-thirds of Charlotte was white, most black political candidates could not get enough votes to win.

Leading the Way for Change

Alexander continued his civil rights work. He became known as a moderate leader. He was a founding member of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Council on Human Relations. He was also elected to the Southern Regional Council. He served on the United Community Services committee. At the same time, Charlotte was changing. In 1957, the school board decided to allow some black students into formerly all-white schools. This followed a 1954 US Supreme Court ruling that said segregated public schools were against the law. Three students bravely attended despite anger and protests. Business leaders in Charlotte were very worried about the negative image this created for their city.

In 1962, Alexander became the first African-American member of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce. He represented his family's business. A year later, he was appointed to the Mecklenburg County Board of Public Welfare. In May 1963, the Chamber of Commerce passed a resolution. It encouraged businesses to integrate. Many businesses in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County then voluntarily ended segregation. Business leaders decided it was important for Charlotte to be seen as a city that was fair on racial issues. This would help their businesses.

In 1964, Alexander was chosen to be on the Executive Committee of the Mecklenburg County Democratic Party. After the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964 and the Voting Rights Act in 1965, he again helped organize voter registration. He also worked on other important projects.

Elected to City Council

In 1965, Frederick Alexander ran for and won a seat on the Charlotte City Council. He became the first African American to serve on the Council since the 1890s. At that time, one-third of Charlotte's population was African American. As a candidate, Alexander said he did not want to be seen as "the Negro candidate." Instead, he wanted to be seen as "a man who will work for the good of the entire community." This quote appeared in The Charlotte Observer.

Alexander served on the council for nine years. He helped pass several laws against discrimination. He also worked to remove the fence that separated areas of the segregated Elmwood-Pinewood cemetery. He made other improvements to the city cemetery. The city cemeteries were built in the 1930s. They had a fence dividing them. This fence stayed even after the city started voluntary integration of businesses. Alexander first suggested to the City Council that the fence be removed. They decided to vote on it. In July 1968, the first vote failed. But on January 6, 1969, the proposal was approved. One councilman was absent, and Mayor Stan Brookshire cast the deciding vote in favor.

The next day, Alexander oversaw the removal of the fence. He said that when he was elected, "the Negro cemetery had no paved streets, was weedgrown and filled with trash... unprotected by fences on the outside." Alexander helped get Pinewood's streets paved. He also helped close the cemetery's Ninth Street entrance. This allowed African Americans to enter through the main gate, just like everyone else. One historian said that removing the fence was a key moment for Alexander. It showed he was a strong councilman. His efforts sent a message to both black and white people in Charlotte. It showed that the barriers of segregation belonged to the past.

Some residents had complained about the proposal. They worried that African Americans would steal decorations from white graves. They also feared that white people would be attacked in an open cemetery. Some even worried that white ancestors buried there would object. But the fence was removed, and the cemeteries were united.

Alexander also got the city council to approve building a fire station for northwest Charlotte. This was a neighborhood where most people were African American and had not received enough services. He also helped save the Thompson Orphanage Chapel. Alexander worked to increase the number of African Americans appointed to various city committees and government boards.

On November 22, 1965, the homes of four black leaders in Charlotte were bombed. This was a terrorist attack. Alexander, his brother Kelly Alexander, Julius Chambers, and Reginald Hawkins were all targeted. The attacks seemed to be an attempt to stop their civil rights activities. No one was killed by the explosions. The people who did this were never caught, and no group claimed responsibility.

State Senate and Later Life

In 1974, Alexander was elected to the North Carolina Senate. He represented district 22. As a senator, he served as vice chair of the Higher Education Committee. In 1979, he introduced a law to make the second week in February Black History Week in North Carolina. He was also part of the NAACP. He served on the North Carolina Good Neighbor Council and the Governor's Committee on Law and Order. He was president of the Mint Museum of Art from 1978 to 1979.

Frederick Douglas Alexander passed away on April 13, 1980. He was buried at York Memorial Park in Charlotte.