Noted historian John Hope Franklin, 94, died Wednesday of congestive heart failure at Duke Hospital in Durham. Franklin specialized in the history of the South and the African-American experience, and was the author of the influential book, From Slavery to Freedom: A History of Negro Americans. He also was one of a team of scholars that worked with Thurgood Marshall on the storied Brown v. Board of Education decision, which outlawed separate-but-equal public schools. He was a recipient of the North Carolina Lifetime Achievement Award and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
“Dr. Franklin was a worldwide figure, a seminal author and a man of immeasurable insight,†said N.C. House Speaker Joe Hackney (D-Orange). “We were privileged in North Carolina for so long to have near immediate access to such a rich mind. We will all miss his lessons and we mourn for his loss.â€