North
Carolina has always been a training ground for African-American political leaders.
Between 1874 and 1898, four African-Americans from that state were elected to
the U.S. House of Representatives and hundreds of others were elected to local
and state wide offices. On January 30, 1991, Mr. Daniel Terry Blue, Jr. made
history again when he was elected Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives.
He is the first African-American in that state to receive such an honor.
Mr. Blue was born in Lumberton,
North Carolina, and reared in rural Robeson County. His parents gave him love,
guidance and a nurturing environment that made him a strong man.
After high school graduation
in 1966, Daniel Blue entered North Carolina Central University and majored in
mathematics. An outstanding student, he could have become a physician, engineer
or scientist, but he chose to be a lawyer.
Mr. Blue graduated from Duke
University's law school and elected to practice in North Carolina. In 1976,
he became a founding member of the Raleigh law firm Thigpen, Blue, Stephens
and Fellers, now one of the state's major firms.
Mr. Blue is married and has
three teenage children. He is deeply involved in improving the quality of life
in his community.
In 1980, Mr. Blue was first
elected to represent Wake County in the North Carolina House of Representatives.
He has been re-elected five times and has served on various committees, including
those that oversee appropriations and the judiciary.
