The Honorable Henry E. Frye

Judge Henry E. Frye was born on August 1, 1932 in Ellerbe, North Carolina to Pearl and Walter Frye. Frye received his B.S. degree in biology and chemistry from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical (A&T) State University in Greensboro in 1953 and his J.D. degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1959.

After graduating from North Carolina A&T State University, Frye served as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force for three years where he was stationed in San Antonio, Texas; Denver, Colorado; Suwon, South Korea; and Fukuoka, Japan. After returning to North Carolina and completing his J.D. degree, Frye opened his own law firm in Guilford County in 1959. In 1963, U.S. President John F. Kennedy appointed Frye as a U.S. assistant attorney, making Frye the first African American to hold that office in North Carolina. In 1965, Frye was hired as an adjunct professor at North Carolina Central University School of Law in Durham, North Carolin. Then, in 1968, Frye was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives in 1968 where he served for eleven years, winning re-election five times. During this period, Frye also chaired the House of Representatives’ Guilford Delegation. In addition to his work as a state representative, Frye joined the Greensboro National Bank as its president in 1971. Ten years later, Frye became a senator for the North Carolina Senate, where he led the Appropriations Committee on Education. Frye was appointed to the North Carolina Supreme Court in Raleigh as an associate judge in 1983, winning subsequent elections and remaining on the bench for eighteen years. In 1999, Frye became the first African American to serve as chief justice for the North Carolina Supreme Court. He joined the Brooks Pierce Firm as “of counsel” in 2001. That same year, Frye returned to his alma mater, North Carolina A&T State University, as a professor of political science and criminal justice.

During his career, Frye received numerous awards and honors including the Frank Porter Graham Award from the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina in 2002 and the North Carolina Award from the State of North Carolina in 2007. In 2009, the North Carolina Democratic Party honored Frye by renaming the Sanford Hunt Dinner ceremony to the Sanford Hunt Frye Dinner.

Frye lives with his wife, Shirley T. Frye, in Greensboro, North Carolina. They have two children, Henry and Harlan.

The Honorable Henry E. Frye was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on April 17, 2023.