William G. Enloe

William G. Enloe
Mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina
In office
1957–1963
Preceded by Fred B. Wheeler
Succeeded by James W. Reid
Raleigh City Councilman
In office
1971–1972
Preceded by Thomas W. Bradshaw
Succeeded by Edith Reid
Personal details
Born 15 June 1902
Rock Hill, South Carolina[1]
Died November 22, 1972(1972-11-22) (aged 70)
Rex Hospital, Raleigh, North Carolina
Resting place Historic Oakwood Cemetery
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Ruth Erskine
Children 1
Residence Raleigh, North Carolina

William Gilmore "Bill" Enloe (15 June 1902 – 22 November 1972)[2][3] was the Mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina from 1957–1963.[4] Enloe was a member of the Democratic Party. William G. Enloe High School, the first integrated public high school in Raleigh, was named after him. He was mayor when the school opened in 1962.[5][6]

In 1960 he criticized black students who participated in local lunch counter sit-ins, calling it regrettable that they would “risk endangering Raleigh’s friendly and cooperative race relations by seeking to change a long-standing custom.”[7]

In the summer of 1963 the American south was subject to a wave of violence, protests, and mass arrests. Enloe, wanting to "avoid another Birmingham," appointed a biracial committee of 100 to resolve Raleigh's civil rights issues.[8]

Prior to serving as mayor of Raleigh, Enloe worked as a district manager for Wilby-Kincey Theaters.[9] He was still affiliated with the theaters during his term as mayor. As mayor, Enloe dealt with sit-ins at lunch counters and other pro-integration demonstrations.[10] Among the targets of some demonstrators were movie theaters owned by the chain for which Enloe worked as district manager, which were designed to accommodate Jim Crow era segregation, with separate seating arrangements. Enloe resisted the efforts to integrate the theater. Eventually, in a meeting with United States Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, he agreed to begin desegregating the theaters, starting with those in Greensboro, then Winston-Salem, Charlotte, Durham, and finally Raleigh.[11] He was considered moderate on the issue of race relations.

Enloe briefly served as a Raleigh city councilman from 1971 until his death.[12]

Enloe died at Rex Hospital in Raleigh. He is buried next to his wife, Ruth Erskine Enloe, in Raleigh's Historic Oakwood Cemetery.[13] They had one son, William G. Enloe II.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Enloe, William Gilmore (1902) › Page 2 - Fold3.com". fold3.com. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  2. ↑ Ancestry.com, North Carolina, Death Certificates, 1909-1975 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007), www.ancestry.com, Database online.
  3. ↑ Historic Oakwood Cemetery
  4. ↑ "raleighnc.gov". raleigh-nc.org. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  5. ↑ "William G Enloe High School". publicschoolreview.com. 5 November 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  6. ↑ Enloe's name caught up in diversity debate
  7. ↑ Shaffer, Josh (17 June 2016). "Quit making school names so boring – Shaffer". News & Observer. Raleigh, North Carolina. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  8. ↑ Grant, Gerald (2009). Hope and Despair in the American City. Harvard University Press. p. 87. ISBN 9780674053922.
  9. ↑ "Named Schools, WCPSS". wcpss.net. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  10. ↑ http://web.co.wake.nc.us/lee/vf/cr/demo/sitins/ral/news/19600211lchc/19600211lchc.pdf
  11. ↑ Covington, Howard E.; Ellis, Marion A. (1999), Terry Sanford: Politics, Progress, and Outrageous Ambitions (illustrated ed.), Duke University Press, p. 315, ISBN 9780822323563
  12. ↑ Sharpe, John (20 August 2014). Growing Up With Raleigh: Smedes York Memoirs and Reflections of a Native Son, Conversations With John Sharpe. Lulu Press Inc. ISBN 9781483410760.
  13. ↑ http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=83480475


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