The Honorable G.K. Butterfield

Politician and judge George Kenneth “G.K.” Butterfield was born on April 27, 1947 in New York, New York to George Kenneth Butterfield, Sr. and Addie Davis. Butterfield received his B.A. degree in sociology and political science in 1971. He was awarded his J.D. degree in 1974 from North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina.

In 1968, Butterfield served as a personnel specialist at Fort Bragg near Fayetteville, North Carolina. After receiving an honorable discharge in 1970 and completing his J.D. degree, Butterfield became an associate for the Clayton & Balance law firm in 1974. The following year, Butterfield started his own law firm, Fitch, Butterfield & Summer, with Milton F. “Toby” Fitch, Jr. It subsequently became Fitch & Butterfield firm in 1977, and then Fitch, Butterfield & Wynn in 1984. Butterfield started his judicial career in 1989 as a resident superior court judge on the State of North Carolina Judicial Branch, a position he held for twelve years. In 2001, Governor Michael Easley appointed him to the First Division of the Superior Court of North Carolina. After serving for three years on the Superior Court, Butterfield was elected to the U.S. Congress in 2004 as a U.S. House Representative for the First District of North Carolina where he served for eighteen years. In 2022, Butterfield then joined the McGuireWoods law firm in Washington, D.C as a senior advisor in federal affairs.

During his career, Butterfield served as a member of the Groove Phi Groove Social Fellowship, Inc. starting in 1967; as a life member starting in 1970 to the Darden Alumni Association as well as a member of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity. Butterfield was active in the Congressional Black Caucus from 2004 to 2022 including serving as chair of the CBC from 2014 to 2016.

Butterfield received numerous awards and honors, including an honorary doctorate of human letters from Fayetteville State University in 2018, the YMCA’s Congressional Champion Award in 2022, and the North Carolina Award for Public Service from the State of North Carolina in 2023. The City of Greenville, North Carolina, voted unanimously in 2018 to rename a transportation center the G.K. Butterfield Transportation Center in his honor.

Butterfield resides in Wilson, North Carolina, with his wife, Dr. Sylvia M. Butterfield. He has three children: Valeisha, Lenai, and Tunya.

The Honorable G.K. Butterfield was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on April 18, 2023.