Horace Locklear
{{Short description|American politician (1942–2024)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Horace Locklear
| image = Horace Locklear.jpg
| image_upright =
| caption = Locklear c. 1977
| office = Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives from the 21st District
| term_start = 1977
| term_end = 1982
| predecessor = Henry Ward Oxendine
| birth_date = {{birth date|1942|11|27}}
| birth_place = Lumberton, North Carolina, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2024|5|5|1942|11|27}}
| death_place = Brunswick County, North Carolina
| constituency =
| party = Democratic
| spouse = Barbara Brayboy
}}
Horace Locklear (November 27, 1942 – May 5, 2024) was an American politician and attorney who served in the North Carolina House of Representatives from 1977 until 1983. A member of the Lumbee tribe, he was the first Native American to practice law in North Carolina.
Early life
Horace Locklear was born on November 27, 1942, to Riley and Margaret Locklear in Lumberton, North Carolina, United States.{{sfn|Cheney|1977|p=410}} He was a member of the Lumbee tribe. He attended Piney Grove Elementary School and Magnolia High School.{{cite news| title = Magnolia Finals Slated For Thursday At School| newspaper = The Robesonian| page = 12| date = June 3, 1976| url = https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/43326043/}} After graduating from the latter, he attended Pembroke State College, graduating in 1964. He then attended North Carolina Central University, graduating in 1972 with a Juris Doctor degree.{{sfn|Cheney|1977|p=410}}
Career
In 1964 Locklear worked as a job developer for the North Carolina Fund's Manpower Program in Statesville.{{cite news| last = Stapleton| first = Sid| title = Unemployed Indians Moved to Job Sites| newspaper = Lansing State Journal| agency = Associated Press| page = 30| date = June 22, 1966| url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30341439/lumbee-relocation-oxendine-locklear/}} In 1968 he cofounded the Lumbee Regional Development Association.{{sfn|Brayboy|1999|p=20}}
On August 28, 1972, Locklear was admitted into the North Carolina State Bar, becoming the first Native American to do so.{{cite news| title = First Indian Lawyer| newspaper = The Robesonian| page = 2| date = August 28, 1972| url = https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/43345298/}} He opened a law practice in Lumberton in an office across the street from the Robeson County Courthouse.{{sfn|Brayboy|1999|p=20}} That year he was also appointed to serve as North Carolina's delegate at the 25th annual Governor's Interstate Indian Council in Bismarck, North Dakota.{{cite news| title = Lumberton Attorney Named To Interstate Indian Council| newspaper = The Robesonian| page = 1| date = August 30, 1972| url = https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/43345402/}} In 1974 he served as the county manager of Nick Galifianakis' U.S. Senate campaign.{{cite news| title = Locklear Joins Galifianakis Campaign Drive| newspaper = The Robesonian| page = 12| date = April 26, 1974| url = https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/43323552/}} In 1976 he ran as member of the Democratic Party unopposed for a seat in the North Carolina House of Representatives.{{cite news| title = Local Ballot Filled With 45 Contenders| newspaper = The Robesonian | page = 9B| date = May 30, 1976| url = https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/43324920/}} He was elected and took office the following year,{{sfn|Brayboy|1999|p=20}} representing the 21st District, which included portions of Robeson, Hoke, and Scotland counties. In 1979 Locklear gave a speech before the House in favor of designating the eastern box turtle the state reptile of North Carolina, noting its historical importance to indigenous communities.{{cite web| url = https://www.ncpedia.org/reptile-eastern-box-turtle| title = State Reptile: Eastern Box Turtle| last = Case| first = Steven| last2 = Agan| first2 = Kelly| last3 = Kemp| first3 = Amy| date = 2017| website = NCPedia| publisher = North Carolina Government & Heritage Library| access-date = August 9, 2020}} He left office in 1982.
In 1988 Locklear briefly served as a defense attorney for Eddie Hatcher, a man charged with taking hostages at the offices of The Robesonian in February. Hatcher dismissed him before his trial began. In November Locklear was charged in the Robeson County Court with attempted obstruction of justice, obtaining property under false pretenses, and attempted obtaining property under false pretenses. The prosecutor alleged that Locklear had met with a convicted drug trafficker and acquired money from him while asserting that he had close connections with a judge and could convince the judge to lighten his sentence.{{cite news| last = Rankin| first = Sam| title = Lawyer Indicted on 3 Felony Charges| newspaper = The Carolina Indian Voice| page = 1| volume = 16| issue = 48| date = December 1, 1988| url = http://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn83008090/1988-12-01/ed-1/seq-1/}} No charges were brought against the drug trafficker, and Locklear's attorneys accused the prosecutor of engaging in selective prosecution.{{cite news| title = Motions to be Heard in Horace Locklear Case| newspaper = The Carolina Indian Voice| page = 1| volume = 18| issue = 4| date = January 25, 1990| url = http://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn83008090/1990-01-25/ed-1/seq-1/}} He eventually reached a plea bargain with the prosecutor, pleading guilty to two charges of obstruction of justice and in turn receiving a suspended sentence of three years and being compelled to perform community service.{{cite news| last = Rhodes| first = B.| title = Locklear Agrees to Plea Bargain| newspaper = The Robesonian| page = 1A| date = February 28, 1990| url = http://lumbee.library.appstate.edu/bibliography/872}}{{cite news| title = Lumberton Lawyer Who Boasted of Controlling Judge Disbarred| newspaper = News & Record| date = June 12, 1990| url = https://greensboro.com/lumberton-lawyer-who-boasted-of-controlling-judge-disbarred/article_dd3e3451-8dad-5802-be7a-1845ba3927e0.html| access-date = August 9, 2020}} He was subsequently disbarred by the North Carolina State Bar for unethical conduct.
Personal life and death
On May 11, 1963, Locklear married Barbara Brayboy. He had three children with her.{{sfn|Cheney|1977|p=410}}
Locklear died at Lower Cape Fear LifeCare in Brunswick County, on May 5, 2024, at the age of 81.{{Cite web |url=https://borderbelt.org/horace-locklear-a-lumbee-trailblazer-in-north-carolina-law-and-politics-dies/|title=Horace Locklear, a Lumbee trailblazer in North Carolina law and politics, dies |first1=Sarah |last1=Nagem |newspaper= Border Belt Independent |date=May 15, 2024 |access-date=May 18, 2024}}
References
{{reflist}}
Works cited
- {{cite book| last = Brayboy| first = Connee| title = Pembroke in the Twentieth Century| publisher = Arcadia Publishing| date = 1999| location =| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=tQ39bxVnWSEC| isbn = 9780738590370}}
- {{cite book| editor-last = Cheney| editor-first = John L. Jr.| title = North Carolina Manual| publisher = North Carolina Secretary of State| date = 1977| location = Raleigh| url = https://archive.org/details/northcarolinaman1977nort| oclc = 1245537}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Locklear, Horace}}
Category:Democratic Party members of the North Carolina House of Representatives
Category:North Carolina lawyers
Category:North Carolina Central University alumni
Category:University of North Carolina at Pembroke alumni
Category:Disbarred American lawyers
Category:20th-century American lawyers
Category:People from Lumberton, North Carolina
Category:20th-century members of the North Carolina General Assembly