Mae McLendon
Mae was born in the little town of Red Springs, NC. Her mother moved her “kicking and screaming” to Orange County in 1964. She now cannot imagine living anywhere else.
She was educated in the Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools. She earned a B.A. in Sociology and a Master of Social Work from UNC- Chapel Hill, where she was an active member of the Black Student Movement and participant in the food service workers strike in 1969. Her employment history includes working with the NC Department of Correction (now Public Safety) where she retired with more than 25 years of service. She has worked as the Volunteer Coordinator for Durham County Cooperative Extension, Habitat for Humanity of Orange County, and Interfaith Council for Social Service, and now works part-time as the Community Connector for the Marian Cheek Jackson Center and as a Facility/Activity Supervisor for the Town of Carrboro’s Recreation, Parks, and Cultural Resources Department.
Mae learned from her mother about giving back and practices “what she preaches”. Some of her past civic activities include service on the Chapel Hill Planning Board, the Orange County Board of Social Services, the Board of Directors of Inter-Faith Council for Social Services, and the NC Inmate Grievance Resolution Board.
Her current activities include serving as the Coordinator of the Planning Committee for the Chapel Hill Carrboro CROP Hunger Walk and as a member of the Orange County Affordable Housing Advisory Board. She is very active in her church, St. Paul A.M.E. in Chapel Hill, where she serves as a member of the Steward Board, member of the Usher Board, member of the Duhart-Clark Women Missionary Society, the unofficial photographer, and the editor of an e-newsletter that she started and sends out weekly to members.
She has been active in local politics since 1968 serving in various positions on the precinct, county and state level. Her association memberships include NAACP (Chapel Hill – Carrboro Branch); American Correctional Association; NC Correctional Association; NC Association of Volunteer Administration, and State Employees Association of NC.
Her many awards and recognitions include the Marsha Riddle Lifetime Achievement Award from the NC Association of Volunteer Administration, the Irene Briggarmen Lifetime Achievement Award from Chapel Hill Carrboro Chamber of Commerce, the Mildred Berkley Outstanding Service Award, Inter Faith Council for Social Service, the Rebecca Clark Community Service Award from the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Branch NAACP, the Mary C. Terrell Service Award from National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice, the H. G. “Gus” Moeller Outstanding Service Award from the NC Correctional Association, and the Outstanding Contributor to Volunteerism from the International Association of Justice Volunteerism.
Mae is the daughter of the late Amos and Martha McLendon. She had two sisters Hattie Miles (deceased) and Helen Galbreath. She is the proud mother of Anissa “Niecy” McLendon.
Kathy Atwater and Mae McLendon - On their school experiences
"...informed me to take this letter home to your mama ‘Cause you are going to Chapel High School next year.’ And I said, ‘No, I’m not’. And they said, ‘Yes you are.’ Cause they hand-picked the Blacks that they would send to Chapel Hill High School."
- Mae McLendon
In this oral history, Ms. Mae and Ms. Kathy share their experiences growing up in the Northside and Pine Knolls communities. They provide an incredibly nuanced understanding of the social impacts of the education system as they grew up during the transition from voluntary to mandatory integration. Both women provide especially salient insights into teen pregnancy, the importance of community and family, and the discrepancies between the way they were raised to the standards today. Both women remember the very strong stance their families took in shielding them and the other children in the community from some of the harsher realities of the time they were living in, to allow them a chance at a normal childhood. Especially, how this has impacted them as adults and how grateful they are for their parents' protection. Without it, they would have had to learn about critical historical events such as Ruby Bridges attending a white school, the Civil Rights Movement, etc. from media that was not kind to Black people or their stories. This transitions especially well into the discussion regarding media today and the importance of seeing people in nuanced ways. While communities today are generally more open-minded, there is a push to categorize people, professions, etc. For the sake of social and political gain, Ms. Mae and Ms. Kathy advise against that. They end the interview by discussing the importance of being open-minded, learning from elders, and embracing the communities that we are a part of.
Mae McLendon - On motherhood and attending UNC
“I was a member of the Black Student Movement. It was like a year old when I got there so I was very active in that. I was the off-campus minister. We would go to the football games and not stand for the national anthem…as a form of protest.”
- Mae McLendonr
In this interview, Mae McLendon sits down with several members of the Marian Cheek Jackson Center staff to talk about various aspects of her life and the community she found in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. Born in the country in Red Springs, North Carolina, Mae McLendon then moved to the Pine Knolls neighborhood in Chapel Hill in 1964. After getting pregnant while in high school, McLendon discusses the support she received from her community and how it varied from what pregnant white teenagers would typically experience. After graduating from high school, she attended UNC where she was extremely active in the Black Student Movement. Being one of only twenty Black students from her graduating class, Ms. McLendon describes what it was like being Black at a predominantly white institution during that time. She then discusses the different neighborhoods that she has lived in and the close-knit community that exists within them.
