20 January 2023
RALEIGH, N.C. (WGHP) — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has ordered that flags be lowered to half-staff until sunset on Friday, Jan. 20.
The order, which came out Thursday, honors former North Carolina Rep. Annie Brown Kennedy, the first Black woman to serve in North Carolina’s General Assembly. Kennedy died on Tuesday.
According to the governor’s office, Kennedy was North Carolina’s second African American female attorney and the state’s first African American female presidential elector in 1976. Gov. Hunt appointed her to fill a vacated seat in the House of Representatives for District 29 in 1979. She later represented the 66th district in North Carolina’s state House.
“My friend, Rep. Annie Brown Kennedy, was an extraordinary public servant who paved the way for future leaders in our state as the first African American woman to serve in the NC General Assembly,” Gov. Cooper said. “Our prayers are with her family and loved ones at this time.”
The state invites all North Carolinians to fly flags at half-staff until sunset Friday.