Henry E. Frye came of age just as the South was beginning a transformational change. When he graduated from college in 1953, African Americans like him could only hope that the future would be different from the past. At the close of his public career in 2001, he was chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court - the head of the state's third branch of government. Throughout their lives, Frye and his wife, Shirley, were in the vanguard of the advances that shaped the lives of African Americans. His election to the state legislature in 1968 was the beginning of steady, determined efforts to expand opportunities for African Americans in politics, business and society at large. This book traces, along with his, their careers as well and explores the growing participation of African Americans in the civic, political and social life of North Carolina.

In this collective biography spanning four generations, Howard Covington explores how one prestigious family shaped the development of Piedmont North Carolina, particularly the city of Durham. Covington examines the lives and legacies of George Washington Watts; his son-in-law, John Sprunt Hill; and Hill's son, George Watts Hill, and grandson, George Watts Hill Jr., analyzing the personalities, beliefs, relationships, and life forces that propelled these four men to become leading figures of their generations.
Perhaps best known for such family businesses as Central Carolina Bank, the Carolina Inn, and Watts Hospital, and for their partnership in the American Tobacco Company, Watts and the Hills were also advocates for education, fair banking, credit unions, and health insurance. Active in both local and statewide politics, they worked for major infrastructure changes, including a better highway system and the development of Research Triangle Park, and all left lasting legacies.