Former DTH reporter remembers role as activist

It was Loyd Little’s job as a reporter for The Daily Tar Heel that led him to the picket lines on Franklin Street to rally for integration in Chapel Hill movie theaters in 1961.

“There was a white section downstairs in the movies and a black section upstairs,” he said. “The Daily Tar Heel led a revolution there and suggested that people picket the theaters.”

Little, who was the DTH managing editor during the 1961-62 school year, said he had two roles as a reporter: He would go out and interview people, but he would also stand in the picket line.

“People would ride by and throw Coca-Cola bottles at us and stuff like that. That was kind of scary, but the theaters were integrated that year,” he said.

During this time, Little said he came up with the idea of being both a reporter and an activist — a goal he has since achieved through his career as a writer.

In his sixth book, “Roll On Sugaree,” Little balances his enjoyment of writing with a concentration on another divisive issue that occurred in Chapel Hill. Little said he was inspired by his experience fighting for farmers who claimed Chapel Hill was violating their rights to a nearby stream.

“I lived down in that community at the time, so I was a member of the people fighting against Chapel Hill, but also I loved Chapel Hill,” he said. “There were two sides of me, and I felt like as a writer, I saw the two sides of the story and could get that across in my book.”

Little said there are also many entertaining subplots in the book, ranging from a love story to fighting chickens.

“I had read about and knew people who raised fighting roosters. I thought that was so strange and twisted, and I was fascinated by the idea,” he said.

“I did some research on it and found that it’s banned in this country but that overseas it’s very common. A lot of countries have significant rooster fights. They’re as popular as horse racing with big money riding on them. I thought this would be an interesting little side trip to put in my book.”

Bland Simpson, a UNC English professor, said he’s known Little for just over 40 years and counts him as a great mentor and friend.

“He hired me to write feature stories about unusual business ventures in North Carolina when he was the editor of a financial weekly here in Chapel Hill,” he said. “I asked him, ‘When writing a story, how much of my opinion do you want?’ He said, ‘Not very much at all. Quote what people say just as they said it, and if they’re saying foolish things, it will be very clear.’”

Simpson said Little’s background as a great reporter and his exquisite eye for detail helps his writing.

“He’s got an idiosyncratic sense of humor. He’s not a comic writer, but there’s really a warm sensibility and a good sense of humor behind the lens as he writes,” he said.

Kris Little, Loyd Little’s wife, said her husband’s aim in writing is to put pieces of thoughtfulness in a story that is mainly for entertainment.

“Just to enjoy the story is his primary goal,” she said.

“He is so much fun to be with, and I think that comes through in what he writes.”

arts@dailytarheel.com