Brumit Belton (B.B.) De Laine, 1937-2012

 June 14, 2012

B. B. De Laine died this morning after a long life of service to all of God's children.

The first African-American hired to teach at Garinger High in 1965, De Laine later helped design and operate the logistics of court-ordered desegregation of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

De Laine was the youngest son of Mattie Belton De Laine and the Rev. Joseph A. De Laine. Rev. De Laine was the South Carolina minister who shepherded his flock through the violence and intimidation aimed at blocking the Clarendon County, S.C., lawsuit over a school bus that spawned Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.

B.B. De Laine played a key role in 1960 as Johnson C. Smith University students picketed and sat in at Charlotte lunch counters.

In the video below, B.B. De Laine talks about the values he learned as he grew up. Other videos recorded May 17, 2011, his last visit at the Forum, are here.

The Charlotte Observer's obituary story is here.