According to The Long Leaf Pine Society, the Order of the Long Leaf Pine is awarded to "persons for exemplary service to the State of North Carolina and their communities that is above and beyond the call of duty and which has made a significant impact and strengthened North Carolina." It is among the most prestigious awards conferred by the Governor.
Since 1963, several luminaries have received the award, among them Maya Angelou, Dale Earnhardt, William “Bill” Friday, Michael Jordan, Dean Smith, Harry Belafonte, Shirley Chisholm, Phil Donahue, Gerald R Ford, John Glenn, Tipper Gore, Mia Hamm, Coretta Scott King, Sidney Poitier, Colin Powell, William H. Rehnquist, Tennessee Williams, Oprah Winfrey, Andrew Young and now...Braxton Foushee.
Mr. Foushee is a civil rights and community leader recognized for his character and courage as much as for his many accomplishments. In a packed auditorium in the Drakeford Library Building Thursday night, his family, religious and community leaders, colleagues past and present, and his wife, Barbara Foushee, Mayor of Carrboro, paid tribute to a man who always "goes where he's needed."
Speakers attested to his storied life of activism and service through civic and community engagement, including a long-running mentorship of Boy Scouts. He was the first Black Alderman (former name of Council Members) for the Town of Carrboro. Among his civil rights activities was integrating the cafeteria in UNC's hospital. He helped save the Carr Mill and turn it into a mall in the late 1970s. He worked to create the Hank Anderson park in Carrboro and helped bring the free bus service connecting Carrboro and Chapel Hill.
During the "State of the Station" on WCOM on November 1, Mayor and Braxton Foushee joined Jacques Menache for an interview during which they discussed events in his life and in Carrboro. Mr. Foushee said, “I have to say that you have to be in the community to be able to know the community, and this is a big community we have here, prosperous, and it's the place where all forces can be heard. This is what I am so proud of. In lots of communities voices are silent, but in this community we pride ourselves in listening to everybody in the community.”
The Town of Carrboro recognizes his championing of "many issues that have directly impacted the Black community in Carrboro, including ensuring equitable access to paved roads, sidewalks and bicycle infrastructure. He worked tirelessly to fight injustices against Black residents by law enforcement, resulting in state agencies investigating and diversifying the Carrboro Police Department in the 1970s." His life inspired the naming of December 13 "Braxton Foushee Day of Service" in Carrboro.
For more information about this remarkable life in Mr. Foushee's own words, check out his oral history, archived by The Marian Cheek Jackson Center in Chapel Hill.
As the Mayor said Thursday evening, it was fitting that Braxton Foushee received the state's highest civilian honor in a building named for the first Black mayor of Carrboro with whom he worked, on the corner of Braxton Foushee Street, in a town that has benefited immeasurably from his lifetime of service. Congratulations, Braxton Foushee, and thank you!
WCOM's Jacques Menache contributed to this story.