[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 16747-16748]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     A TRIBUTE TO W. HORACE CARTER

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MIKE McINTYRE

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 19, 2007

  Mr. McINTYRE. Madam Speaker, on April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson took 
the field as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team and broke 
the color barrier as the first African American to play in the major 
leagues. His courage, determination, and integrity have served as an 
inspiration to generations and opened the door for thousands to play 
our national pastime. Rightly, our Nation recently stopped to celebrate 
the 60th anniversary of this historic milestone.
  However, as many know, the practice of discrimination and racism 
continued many years after Mr. Robinson's historic first game. Indeed, 
there were other courageous individuals who joined in the fight for 
equality and justice for all.
  One such man was W. Horace Carter of Tabor City, North Carolina.
  On a July night in 1950--thick with heat and the humidity of the Deep 
South--Horace Carter watched as Ku Klux Klansmen made their violent way 
through his hometown. One hundred Klansmen, in 29 cars, robbed and 
terrorized this small community of farmers and merchants with threats 
of racism.
  Although just 29 years old and the new publisher, editor, and newsman 
for the Tabor City Tribune, Carter knew this was his moment of 
decision.
  He said, ``I searched my soul that evening and on into the next week. 
Was it worth sacrificing our happiness, shattering the tranquil life of 
running a little newspaper in a small town and taking part in Red Cross 
Drives, church covered dish suppers, and the Annual Yam Festival 
promotion just because I believed in a principle? Was it worth the risk 
that the print shop might be burned, our home dynamited? I could be 
dragged from our house with the frantic screams of my family ringing in 
my ears. I might suffer a brutal lashing by a band of masked hoodlums 
or even death if I dared to oppose them. Is it the time to stand up for 
principles even before I am fully aware of what this Klan proposes? I 
didn't want to sound pious or self-righteous, but I reasoned that if I 
were ever to campaign against this Klan reorganization, I should do it 
from its inception. That was now. I sat down at my used fifteen-dollar 
Royal typewriter and with my experienced hunt-and-peck typing style, 
and I wrote an editorial.''

[[Page 16748]]

  Thus began a 3-year crusade against the Klan in the editorial pages 
of this small Southeastern North Carolina newspaper. Carter's courage, 
determination, and words helped in the convictions and prison time for 
Ku Klux Klansmen. For his conviction of doing the right thing, Mr. 
Carter catapulted the Tabor City Tribune into national prominence, 
which received the Pulitzer Prize for Meritorious Community Service, 
the most prestigious of the Pulitzers.
  Madam Speaker, Jackie Robinson once said, ``A life is not important 
except in the impact it has on others' lives.''
  Although Mr. Robinson did not know W. Horace Carter, there is no 
doubt that his words were about persons just like him.
  Mr. Carter's life has continued to be one of honor, leadership, and 
service. He was elected Mayor of Tabor City in 1954 and was judge in 
the weekly city court. He has served as President of the Tabor City 
Chamber of Commerce, Tabor City Rotary Club, Columbus County Economic 
Development Commission, County Library Board, Tabor Industrial 
Development, Inc., Tabor City Recreation Commission, and a Sunday 
School teacher in the Baptist church.
  A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a 
World War II Navy veteran, Mr. Carter and his wife Lucille have three 
children, Rusty Carter, Linda Carter Metzger, and Velda Carter Hughes.
  May God's blessings continue to shine upon this most special man and 
his enduring legacy.

                          ____________________