Remembering Ralph A. Campbell, Jr., A True Pioneer

Written by Ella Tarver Thursday January 13, 2011 7:32pm

Ralph Campbell Ralph A. Campbell, who passed on Tuesday night, January 11, 2011, will lay in state at the North Carolina State Capital Rotunda from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm on Friday, January 14, 2011. Shortly afterwards visitations will be from 7:00pm to 9:00pm at Fletcher Hall at the Progress Energy Center. Funeral services will be held on Saturday at 12:00 noon at St. Ambrose Church, 813 Darby Street where he was a member. Interment will be held at Carolina Biblical Gardens.

In 1992, Mr. Campbell was elected as the State Auditor making him the first African-American in North Carolina to be elected to a statewide constitutional office. He served three consecutive terms as the State Auditor but this was not Mr. Campbell’s first job in which he dedicated himself to citizens.

Mr. Campbell served on the Raleigh City Council from 1985 to 1992 of which he was mayor pro tem from 1989 to 1991. Mr. Campbell’s service to others also included him serving several years in the United States Army Reserves from 1971 to 1992; however, this was not the beginning of his service and dedication to others. Mr. Campbell worked for both North Carolina’s State Health Benefit Office and the Department of Insurance.

Mr. Campbell was a civil rights pioneer and dedicated to his community. His dedication was recognized many times as he was the recipients of awards such as the Omega Man of the Year Award from Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. and honorary doctorates from both Saint Augustine’s College and Shaw University for his service to the community. His personal dedication to public service and the integrity of public office has earned him the Integrity Award presented by the Auditor General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Health and Human Services Award for Distinguished Service.

Mr. Campbell’s involvement in civil rights and public service originated from his parents, Ralph Senior and June Campbell. Mr. Campbell Senior, a postal worker and member of the NAACP along with his wife, June Campbell, together held many meetings around the family kitchen table producing the “Oval Table Gang”, who were civil rights activists who focused on desegregation and black political involvement.

One of the achievements of Mr. Campbell while on the Raleigh City Council was to keep the Murphy School from demolition. The Murphy school which was built in 1916, is one of Raleigh’s oldest schools and was desegregated by Bill Campbell, the younger brother of Mr. Campbell. Today the Murphy school is home to the Burning Coal Theater (Meymandi theater) and the Murphy School apartments.