A
native of Orangeburg, South Carolina, Earl M. Middleton (1919-2007) prospered in ways few African Americans
have in the rural South. As owner of a successful business
that cuts across racial lines and as a political leader in
the cause of civil rights, Middleton garnered hard-won
recognition from blacks and whites alike.
His life story is at once illustrative of dynamic
developments in southern race relations over the past eight
decades and inspirational in telling how one individual
capitalized on those changes to perpetuate a family legacy
of entrepreneurship and service in his community.
Middleton's father was a carpenter, and his mother was
one of the first graduating classes of what is now the South
Carolina State University. He was the youngest of six children. Middleton himself graduated from Claflin College,
Orangeburg's predominantly black Methodist school, where his
studies of sociology became the basis of his knack for
understanding and communicating with different communities.
A veteran of World War II, Middleton was trained as a
Tuskegee Airman in 1942 and then served as an infantry
soldier in the Pacific theater. Returning to Orangeburg in
1946, he became a barber and then a restaurant owner before
finding his true vocation as a real-estate and insurance
salesman. What is now one of the largest and most profitable
real-estate firms in Orangeburg began as a sideline in the
back of a barbershop, but Middleton quickly developed a
reputation for superior knowledge and service.
But his success did not come without adversity. As a
civil rights activist in the turbulent 1950s and 1960s,
Middleton witnessed firsthand the bravery and tragedy of
Orangeburg's citizens. He was a leader in South Carolina's
Republican Party, but along with many black Republicans, he
switched to the Democratic Party in 1960. Middleton
participated in sit-ins and signed a petition to send his
daughter to an all-white school. His wife, then the head of
South Carolina State's library science department, was
jailed for joining a student protest. From these experiences
Middleton developed an unconquerable forbearance that
complemented his unshakable belief in equality. In 1974 he
was among the first wave of twentieth-century African
Americans to be elected to the South Carolina General
Assembly, where he served for a decade. There he was a
founding member of the Legislative Black Caucus and an
influential voice on the U.S. Civil Rights Commission.
Today Orangeburg is a community that values growth, as
evidenced by the rising number of new arrivals and returning
populations. At the center of this new age is Earl
Middleton, a man for whom appreciation of the past and
investment in the present have always been good for
business.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Earl M. Middleton was the founder and
owner of Coldwell Banker Middleton and Associates. He has
been profiled in the Wall Street Journal and
honored by numerous state and civic organizations.
Middleton's co-author Joy W. Barnes
is a graduate of Clemson University. She
has worked at the Middleton companies since 1972.
The most recent honor, given to Earl Middleton just four months
before he died during a special ceremony at the Charleston Air Force Base, was
the presentation by President Bush of a bronze replica of the Congressional Gold
Medal that was awarded to the historic Tuskegee Airmen. They were joined by
Middleton's son, Kenneth; U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R- S.C., left; and Middleton
business associate Joy Barnes, right, at Charleston Air Force Base. In addition
to the Congressional Medal of Honor presentation, the Middletons' and Barnes were
treated to a private tour of Air Force One. (White House photo by Eric Draper)
Newspaper article on Joy Barnes and Earl Middleton
