John Wesley Winters Sr. (January 21, 1920 – February 15, 2004) was an American real estate developer, politician, and civil rights activist. A member of the Democratic Party, he served on City Council of Raleigh, North Carolina, from 1961 until 1967 and in the North Carolina Senate for the 14th district from 1975 until 1977.
Winters was born in 1920 in Raleigh. He spent most of his youth there but moved to New York City to complete his education. He later returned to Raleigh and married, and soon thereafter dropped out of college to take up work after his first child was born. He then worked a series of service jobs before saving up enough money to start his own construction company. After building a few homes, Winters' company took up larger projects and began constructing hundreds of houses. In 1961 Winters competed for a seat on the Raleigh City Council and won, becoming the first black person elected to the body since 1900. He chaired the council's Public Works Committee, developing and implementing a plan which used state funds to pave neglected streets in black neighborhoods. He also served as an adviser to Governor Terry Sanford on matters of race and civil rights. Winters retired from the city council in 1967, but seven years later he was elected to the North Carolina Senate seat from the 14th district. He won reelection two years later, but resigned in July 1977 following his appointment to the North Carolina Utilities Commission.
Early life
John Winters was born on January 21, 1920, in Raleigh, North Carolina, to Charles Winters and Lillie Summerville. He was the tenth of twelve children. He grew up in what he called a racially mixed neighborhood on land acquired by his grandfather near Raleigh's downtown. Winters attended elementary school in the city. His family suffered from financial difficulties throughout his youth, and after his mother died when he was thirteen years old he moved to New York City to live with his sister. He attended Frederick Douglass Junior High in Harlem and Boys High School in Brooklyn, graduating from the latter in 1939. He subsequently attended Long Island University, Virginia State College, and Shaw University on football scholarships. On February 3, 1941, he married Marie Montaque. The following year their first child was born, and Winters dropped out of school to take up work. The couple had a total of eight children. Winters was a devout Catholic and a parishioner at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church in Raleigh.
Business career
Winters initially worked a variety of physically demanding jobs. During World War II he attempted to enlist in the United States Armed Forces, but was disqualified from service due to scars left by a childhood illness. He instead found work as a porter at the Raleigh railway station. After garnering enough savings, Winters purchased a nightclub and poultry farm. Due to financial difficulties, he lost both properties in 1948 and was forced to move his family into the attic of his father's home. He applied for work as a deliveryman for a dairy company in Raleigh, but, feeling that he would be denied a job because he was black, he returned to Brooklyn to wait tables at Lundy's Restaurant. Upon being informed that his application was successful, he moved back to Raleigh to take up the delivery job. By 1951 he had been promoted to supervisor and, making a higher salary, he purchased land along Hargett Street and designed and built his own house for his family. Since his dairy job kept him busy only until about noon each day, he found additional employment as a skycap at Raleigh–Durham Airport. While there, he protested against the airport's racially segregated facilities. With his new income, Winters was able to pay off his debts and set aside additional funds as savings.