HOWARD CLEMENT, 1934-2016: Beloved Bull City civic, civil rights icon passes away

May 26--DURHAM -- Former City Councilman Howard Clement III, 82, passed away peacefully on Wednesday morning from complications of Parkinson Disease.

Mr. Clement served longer than anyone else -- 30 years -- on the Durham City Council, from 1983 to 2013.

During the civil rights era, Mr. Clement helped to integrate the Carolina Theatre, marched on Washington where he witnessed Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963 and contributed to the formation of the Black Solidarity Committee for Community Improvement which pressured white-owned businesses to make changes recognizing civil rights changes, including integration.

Mr. Clement was a member of the NAACP, Habitat for Humanity, the American Red Cross, The Rotary Club of Durham, Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, Alpha Tau Boule and spearheaded the creation of the Durham City Council's Crime Cabinet.

He was born in Rowan County, North Carolina on March 12, 1934 and was a registered Republican much of his life, changing his party affiliation to Democrat late in his political career.

After graduating from Howard University School of Law, Clement moved to Durham to work at the N.C. Mutual Life Insurance Co. from which he retired in 1991.

"I was saddened to learn of the death of Howard Clement," said Gov. Pat McCrory. "Howard made his mark as a civil rights leader, lawyer, business executive and as a public servant. His 30 years serving on Durham City Council was a record, and the city and the entire community were the beneficiaries of that dedication and service. Ann and I offer our prayers for the Clement family during this time of loss."

"I will always remember Howard Clement for the great conviction he showed in his work on behalf of the community," U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., said in an emailed statement Wednesday. "I extend my deepest sympathy to the Clement family during this difficult time. Durham is a better Mr. Clement is survived by his three daughters-- Saundra, 52, Marcella, 46 and Irma 54 -- from his first marriage to Dolores Clement who died on July 21, 2002 and three grandchildren. He is also survived by second wife Annie Clement. The couple wed in 2007.

"My husband was a wonderful, kind gentleman," Annie Clement said. "My husband was very well known and very well respected. He loved Durham. He loved the progress of Durham."

Former Durham Housing Authority executive director James Tabron said Mr. Clement was his best friend and remembered Mr. Clement fondly.

"For someone that was not a blood brother, he was about as close as one could be to me," said Tabron who was spending time with the late Mr. Clement's family on Wednesday.

Tabron met Mr. Clement in the early 1990s and described his friend as a thoughtful, cheerful man who, when sharing a point-of-view, never argued the case in a manner deliberately meant to hurt, disregard or insult a political or intellectual opponent or challenger.

"I never knew him to shout or not to maintain a level of poise, even if something may have touched him greatly. With him, there were no high highs or low lows," Tabron said. "He presented himself so well, that he could get a point across in a way that was assertive and not harsh and he taught me."

Former City Council member Tom Campbell said, "He was just a presence. When I was student at Duke in late 1960s, he was involved in protests. He's been a public figure in Durham for 50 years."

Campbell he will never forget Mr. Clement's smile.

"He had a wonderful smile," Campbell said. "Hard to predict. We wouldn't always agree, but by the end of the conversation, he would have this big smile his face and there was nothing to do but smile back at him. One of his main strengths, he could disagree without being disagreeable. That is not always the vase with people in political life."

State Sen. Floyd McKissick Jr., D-Durham, said, "One thing he would always say is that he didn't want us to get caught up in the 'paralysis of analysis.' If somebody called up about a pothole or a stop light, he was always good with constituent services."

N.C. Central University Coordinator of University Archives and Instructor of Public History Andre Vann said Mr. Clement was an intellectual who based decisions on extensive reasoning and for whom a legacy will be defined by acts such as "taking time out of his schedule to go down to Fayetteville Elementary" and read to kids.

Chuck Watts, now an attorney with the private practice Banks Law Firm, knew Clement for nearly his entire life.

Watts can recall when Clement moved to Durham into his childhood neighborhood near NCCU in southeast Durham -- "I was a little boy," he said -- and eating lunch with Clement in the 1990s seated in the N.C. Mutual cafeteria.

"He never drove. If you served on a board with him, then chances were he would ask you to drive him to meetings. I was happy to do it and chat with him about matters of the day," Watts said. "He was an extremely interesting guy. He grew into his stature. He was a black Republican when that was against the grain."

Watts said Mr. Clement opposed alcohol at city functions but was "no teetotaler -- he had a nice bar at his house," he said.

Mayor Bill Bell recalled Wednesday that he went to Mr. Clement for advice before he began his political career. Both were Howard University graduates, and Mr. Clement was one of the first people Bell met when he moved to Durham.

Mr. Clement offered a piece of advice that Bell thinks back on and would often tease Mr. Clement about it.

Mr. Clement asked Bell, "Who knows Bill Bell?"

Bell said in that moment he was a bit deflated.

"He was honest, I had been here no longer than four years and I was talking about running for the Board of County Commissioners, but we became friends."

"He was involved in the Black Power Movement back here in the '60s," Bell said, "and I think that stood out because he was an executive at North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company, so doing those two roles were somewhat different," Bell said.

He also remembered Mr. Clement's love for politics, the community and meetings.

"He didn't hesitate to tell you what he thought, how he thought," Bell said. "He was very, very open."

Bell said Mr. Clement's legacy would live on through his dedication to civil rights.

"He was around with the civil rights era and he transitioned into the era that we're into now," Bell said. "And he did it with ease."

Mayor Pro Tem Cora Cole-McFadden remembers Mr. Clement not only from her time on the City Council, but also while she worked with the city.

"I think that he was a strong City Council member, and a very compassionate City Council member," Cole-McFadden said.

She remembers Mr. Clement as a caring person and an advocate for the business community.

Cole-McFadden also recalled Mr. Clement's mentorship of young children -- including reading to elementary school students.

Mr. Clement's interests were multi-faceted, Tabron recalled.

"He was very much into sports, especially college basketball. When games were on that he was into, we knew conversations could be had but words should be at a minimum," Tabron said.

___

(c)2016 The Herald-Sun (Durham, N.C.)

Visit The Herald-Sun (Durham, N.C.) at www.heraldsun.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.