As part of our Black History Month observance, the North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers honors the life and legacy of William Claudius Chance Sr., an early Black attorney, educator, and civil rights advocate whose commitment to justice and community uplift left a lasting mark on Martin County and northeastern North Carolina.
William Claudius Chance Sr. was born and raised in Parmele, North Carolina, and pursued his legal education at Howard University during an era when Black students were excluded from most Southern law schools. Rather than leaving the region after completing his training, Chance returned to eastern North Carolina, where Black communities faced entrenched segregation, disenfranchisement, and limited access to both education and legal representation.
In Martin County, Chance was among the earliest Black attorneys to live and work locally, serving a population with few, if any, Black lawyers during the early twentieth century. His legal work extended beyond formal court appearances and included counseling, advocacy, and community leadership, reflecting the multifaceted role Black attorneys were often required to play in segregated Southern communities.
Chance was also a visionary educator. Recognizing that access to education was inseparable from access to justice, he founded what became the Parmele Industrial Institute, a school dedicated to expanding educational opportunity for Black children in Martin County. In recognition of his leadership and impact, the school was later renamed W. C. Chance High School, honoring his commitment to academic excellence and community advancement. By the late 1940s, the school was noted for sending a significant number of its graduates on to college, an extraordinary achievement for a rural Black school during the Jim Crow era.
Chance’s decision to remain rooted in rural eastern North Carolina reflected a profound commitment to place and people. Rather than seeking safety or opportunity elsewhere, he invested his legal training and educational leadership in communities where the need was greatest and the risks were real. His work laid important groundwork for later generations of Black attorneys, educators, and civic leaders in Martin County and beyond.
Why This Matters
William Claudius Chance Sr.’s legacy matters because it reminds us that the history of Black lawyers in North Carolina is not only written in appellate opinions or landmark cases. It is also written in small towns, local courthouses, and classrooms where access to justice and opportunity depended on whether someone was willing to stay and serve. His life underscores the essential role of early Black attorneys who practiced law under extraordinary constraints and expanded the possibilities for those who would follow.
As members of NCABL, we honor William Claudius Chance Sr. for his courage, his commitment to education and community, and his enduring contribution to the legal profession in North Carolina.
