Thomas Maurice Huntley

1954 - 2017

Thomas Maurice Huntley
Image source: Ebony Herald, March 1975

A native of Greensboro, North Carolina, Thomas Maurice Huntley emerged during the mid-1970s as one of the most prominent African-American student leaders at ECU. Huntley was exceptionally well-rounded, gaining recognition on campus as a track star, a student, a journalist, a student legislator, and a fraternity member. After ECU, Huntley entered the clergy and served for decades as a pastor at various United Methodist churches in North Carolina.

At ECU, Huntley distinguished himself as a journalist by serving first as a staff member and then later as editor-in-chief of the new publication, Ebony Herald. In campus social life, Huntley was a member of the newly organized Omega Psi Phi fraternity. He was also a record-setting member of the track team, distinguishing himself as a Southern Conference champion in 1973 in the 60-yard dash with a time of 6.3 seconds.

Politically active, Huntley also served as a member of the ECU delegation to the North Carolina Student Legislature and was active as a legislator in the ECU Student Government Association. Huntley’s most important role at ECU was as secretary of minority affairs. In that capacity, he was in charge of the SGA Office of Minority Affairs, one meant “to give blacks an active voice in student affairs.” Under Huntley’s direction, the Office of Minority Affairs came to co-sponsor, along with SOULS and the SGA, the annual ECU Black Arts Festival.

As an advocate for blacks, Huntley called for more recruitment of black students, noting that both ECU as an institution of higher education as well as the black students on campus needed to take responsibility for the recruitment. Huntley also called for more black graduate students. Huntley credited the presence of black fraternities and sororities as in part responsible for the appeal of ECU, a predominantly white school, to prospective black students.

Commenting on his role as spokesperson for the ECU black student body, Huntley stated, diplomatically, that his position was “unique” in that “He must produce satisfactory work in order to be called a ‘good [n-word].’ To be a black leader, he must live and be a part of the black student movement and relate it to the projects and duties that he is to carry out.” Offering advice to other black leaders, Huntley emphasized that “A black leader must never be complacent, but always committed… A black leader must never forget that he is a black man. He must look himself over and stand tall as a black man and a black leader. The road to this ultimate goal is long, rough, and lonely.”

After graduating from ECU, Huntley completed a divinity degree at Duke Divinity School, and subsequently served as a Methodist pastor at several United Methodist Churches in North Carolina. He passed away on October 28, 2017 after a lengthy battle with multiple sclerosis.

Sources

Additional Related Material

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Buccaneer 1974
Buccaneer 1974

Citation Information

Title: Thomas Maurice Huntley

Author: John A. Tucker, PhD

Date of Publication: 7/1/2019

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