This picture was taken in March 2023 of North Carolina state Rep. Kelly Alexander Jr. He died last Friday. Seventy-five. (AP Photo by Hannah Schoenbaum)
NC CHARLOTTE — As a member of North Carolina’s powerful civil rights family, State Rep. Kelly Alexander Jr. fought for allowing medical cannabis and died Friday. Seventy-five.
A family statement on Alexander’s social media page said that the Mecklenburg County Democrat had died last Friday morning, but it didn’t say where or what caused the death.
Alexander was appointed to the House in mid-2008 and has been re-elected to a district in the Charlotte area ever since. He used to be head of the state NAACP. Because of health problems, he didn’t run for office again this fall. In December, he told WFAE radio that it would be hard for him to do so in 2024.
The family statement said, “Kelly’s unwavering dedication to his city, district, state, and this country has been deep and sincere over the years.”
Alexander is in charge of the family’s funeral home in Charlotte, which has been around for 100 years. He graduated from UNC Chapel Hill.
It was his father, Kelly Alexander Sr., who brought new life to the NAACP’s Charlotte branch and, according to the website for the state NAACP, became the chapter president in 1948 and held that job for more than 35 years. His son took over after him.
When he was in the General Assembly, Alexander Jr. was an early and strong supporter of making medical cannabis legal. Since then, this kind of bill has passed the Senate but not enough people in the House have agreed with it.
Alexander also spoke in support of a move to get rid of a requirement in the state law that black voters had to pass a literacy test. This requirement had been used for decades to keep black voters from voting.
U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, who was speaker of the state House in the early 2010s, said on X that Alexander was a key part of the congressional effort to make North Carolina the first state to pay people who were sterilized during the 20th century.
“I’m thankful for his years of service to our state, and my thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time,” said Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper on X.
The Charlotte area The Democrats will choose someone to fill Alexander’s empty seat until the end of the year. Aisha Dew didn’t have a main opponent in the Democratic primary for Alexander’s seat, and she won’t have one in the general election either.