George Battle, longtime head of AME Zion Church and CMS board member, dies at 77
Bishop George Edward Battle, Jr., who was head of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church for nine years and a former Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board member, died on Sunday. He was 77.
The Piedmont Episcopal District confirmed Battle’s death in a social media post Sunday night.
“Please remember the Battle Family in your prayers,” the post said.
Battle’s obituary said he was married to his wife, Iris, for 54 years. The couple have a son, George Battle III, who is a former CMS staff attorney, and a daughter, LaChandra Battle Rapley, as well as five grandchildren.
“Though we grieve his loss, we celebrate the profound impact he made on all who knew him,” his obituary said. “May his soul rest in peace, and his memory live on in the hearts of those he touched.”
Battle was 84th in the line of succession at the AME Zion Church. His obituary said he was assigned to the Piedmont Episcopal District until his retirement in 2021.
Born on May 14, 1947, Battle was a teenager when he attended his first AME Zion service. The Rocky Mount native would go on to graduate from Clinton Junior College in Rock Hill in 1967 and Livingstone College in Salisbury in 1969, which both have AME Zion roots. In 1990, he received his doctor of ministry degree from the Howard University School of Divinity.
He was elected an AME bishop in 1992 and led congregations in both North Carolina and South Carolina.
He served as a school board member for 17 years, including four as chairman.
Making an impact
In 1975, he founded the Greater Enrichment Program Inc., which provides out-of-school support to students and parents.
Stephanie Sneed, the chair of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board, said Battle’s work as a board member, bishop, and founder of the program left a unique impression on students and their families. He helped them not only educationally and economically, she said, but spiritually.
Sneed, who met Battle through the Greater Enrichment Program before she ran for the school board, said he was genuine in his desire to make an impact on students and families, and improve education in Charlotte.
“He had ... a big personality — spirit of wanting to have an impact,” Sneed said. “You know how you just meet some people and you know that they are coming from a good place? And they really are trying to make an impact and really trying to change the needle. That’s Bishop Battle.”
In a 2012 story by The Charlotte Observer, before Battle was selected to run the denomination’s Charlotte district — considered the spiritual hub of the worldwide church — he talked about how education remained a priority for the church.
“Kids have to know that somebody’s out there, to put their arms around them and tell them they love them, somebody to help them along,” he said.
He also said it was up to the church to work with communities to prevent crime and violence.
“We have to show people, prove it to the community, that we can do this on our own,” he said. “It’s not acceptable for us to hum along.”
Scholarship fund
Atrium Health established the Bishop George E. Battle Jr. Scholarship Fund to help students from underserved communities pursuing health science degrees. Battle was emeritus member of the Atrium Health Board of Commissioners and Atrium Health Foundation Board, the health system’s website said.
“A lifelong advocate for at-risk and those economically disadvantaged, Bishop Battle has received more than 100 awards and honors during his career, including the Long Leaf Pine Award, the highest award bestowed by the state of North Carolina,” Atrium’s page for the scholarship said.
This story was originally published March 10, 2025 at 11:11 AM.
