By Amanda Chan
achan@charlotteobserver.com

Jim Polk, a leader in Charlotte's African-American community for more than a half-century, died Thursday at age 83.

Polk had a recurrence of prostate cancer for the past few months, said his lifelong friend and fellow activist Jim Ross. He was first diagnosed with the disease more than 20 years ago.

Polk lived in the Grier Heights neighborhood in central Charlotte for most of his life and was a member of Grier Heights Presbyterian Church.

His friends knew him as "Bootsie," Ross said, and the neighborhood plans to hold "Bootsie Hours" to celebrate his achievements.

"This community would not be the community that it is if James K. Polk did not live in it," Ross said. "He is a historical figure in this community, not as well known in terms of some others, but in terms of what he contributed."

Polk served as minority affairs adviser to former N.C. Gov. Jim Martin from 1988 to 1992. He also helped found the mayor's human relations committee in Charlotte in the late 1950s, which peacefully worked with local white businesses to help them open up to black clientele, Ross said.

In the 1960s, he was board chairman of the Charlotte Bureau on Employment, Placement and Training, an agency that cracked down on discrimination in the workplace.

Polk, who was a Democrat-turned-Republican in his adult life, was a mentor to many, including current City Council member Andy Dulin, a Republican who represents District 6.

Dulin, Ross and Polk would often have lunch together to share advice.

"They didn't give me advice about what I needed to do to get votes," Dulin said. "They just gave me advice about how to be a good man."

Polk served on boards and committees throughout his life. He was most recently on the Mecklenburg County Alcohol Beverage Control Board and was chairman of the board of Grier Funeral Service.

Polk was also a past president of the Grier Heights Neighborhood Improvement Association.

Despite his accomplishments, he was never boastful.

"I worked with him all my life, and I never did figure out how he got things done, because he's so low-key and earnest," said Ross. "He had this amazing ability to see in other people what ... they didn't believe."

Through it all, whether the skin color was black or white, Polk sought to bring people together.

In a 1988 Observer interview, Polk recounted his experience helping city leaders, including former Mayor Stan Brookshire, desegregate local restaurants in the 1960s.

"Desegregating restaurants didn't cure all the ills," Polk said. "But it said something to me about the leadership of Charlotte. It told me that I lived in a pretty decent town.

"As I look back, I'm not sure I would have the patience today that we had to muster back then. Things moved gradually. But at the time, the actions that were taken proved to be successful - and we got there."

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