Preceded by Fred B. Wheeler Succeeded by James W. Reid | Political party Democratic Name William Enloe | |
Residence Raleigh, North Carolina | ||
William Gilmore "Bill" Enloe (15 June 1902 – 22 November 1972) was the Mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina from 1957–1963. Enloe was a member of the Democratic Party. William G. Enloe High School, the first integrated public high school in Raleigh, was named after him. He was mayor when the school opened in 1962.
Biography
William Gilmore Enloe was born in South Carolina. He started his business career selling popcorn in Greenville. He eventually became the eastern district manager for North Carolina Theatres, Inc./Wilby-Kincey Theaters.
Enloe came mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina in 1957. In 1960 he criticized black students who participated in the Greensboro sit-ins, calling it "regrettable that some of our young Negro students would risk endangering [black and white] relations by seeking to change a long-standing custom in a manner that is all but destined to fail.” In the summer of 1963 the American south was subject to a wave of violence, protests, and mass arrests. Enloe, wanting to "avoid another Birmingham," appointed a biracial "Committee of One Hundred" to resolve Raleigh's civil rights issues.
Enloe was still affiliated with Wilby-Kincey Theaters during his term as mayor. Among the targets of some anti-segregation demonstrators were movie theaters owned by the chain, which were designed to accommodate Jim Crow era segregation, with separate seating arrangements. Enloe resisted integration efforts. Eventually, in a meeting with United States Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, he agreed to begin desegregating them, starting with those in Greensboro, then Winston-Salem, Charlotte, Durham, and finally Raleigh. At the time he was considered moderate on the issue of race relations.
Enloe briefly served as a Raleigh city councilman from 1971 until his death.
Enloe suffered a heart attack on November 2, 1972 while attending a North Carolina League of Municipalities convention. He died 20 days later at Rex Hospital in Raleigh. He is buried next to his wife, Ruth Erskine Enloe, in Raleigh's Historic Oakwood Cemetery. They had a son, William G. Enloe Jr., and a daughter, Ruth Enloe.