Here’s a list of notable people who attended HBCUs in North Carolina

Here’s a list of notable people who attended Historically Black Colleges and Universities in North Carolina:

NC Central University

• LeVelle Moton, NC Central’s head college basketball coach

• Kim Coles, actress, comedian

• André Leon Talley, fashion icon and Vogue creative director who died in January

• Herman Boone, the high school football coach who was portrayed in the movie “Remember the Titans”

• Ernie Barnes, artist

• Maynard Jackson Jr., the first Black mayor of Atlanta

Fayetteville State University

• Sylvester Ritter, WWE wrestler also known as “Junkyard Dog”

• Affion Crockett, actor, writer and comedian

• Darrell Armstrong, former NBA player who is now a Dallas Mavericks assistant coach

• Michele S. Jones, first woman to be a command sergeant major in U.S. Army Reserve

NC A&T State University

• Taraji P. Henson, actress

• Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr., political activist, Baptist minister, and politician

• Ronald McNair, an American astronaut who was killed aboard the space shuttle Challenger

• Earl Joseph “J.R.” Smith III, NBA player

Elizabeth City State University

• Jethro Pugh, NFL player

• Alice McGill, children’s author

• Shelly Willingham, Democratic member of the North Carolina House of Representatives

• Zack Anthony Forde-Hawkins, Democratic member of the North Carolina House of Representatives

Winston-Salem State University

• Earl “The Pearl” Monroe, former NBA star

• Stephen A. Smith, sports TV personality

• Common, American rapper and actor

Shaw University

• Ella Baker, African-American civil rights activist

• Gladys Knight, “Empress of Soul” and Grammy Award-winning singer

• James Cheek, president emeritus of Howard University

Saint Augustine’s University

• Henry Beard Delany, the first Black person elected Bishop Suffragan of Episcopal Church

• Sarah Louise “Sadie” Delany, an American educator and civil rights pioneer who was the first African-American to teach science in a New York public high school

• Travis Cherry, Grammy-nominated American music producer, musician and songwriter

• James E.C. Perry, a retired Justice of the Florida Supreme Court

This story was originally published March 9, 2022 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Here’s a list of notable people who attended HBCUs in North Carolina."

Kate Murphy

The News & Observer

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Kate Murphy covers higher education for The News & Observer. Previously, she covered higher education for the Cincinnati Enquirer on the investigative and enterprise team and USA Today Network. Her work has won state awards in Ohio and Kentucky and she was recently named a 2019 Education Writers Association finalist for digital storytelling. Support my work with a digital subscription