Frances Hargraves (1914-2002) was a teacher during the desegregation of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro public school system. Born in 1914, Hargraves attended Orange County Training School (OCTS), a high school funded almost entirely by the local Black community since the early 20th century. After marrying Willie M. Hargraves, she attended the Winston-Salem State Teachers College. She and her family then returned to Orange County so she could teach at OCTS. In 1949, OCTS was renamed Lincoln High School.
Hargraves is best known for being the first Black teacher of an integrated classroom in the Chapel-Hill Carrboro public school system, which desegregated in 1966. In addition to mentoring students through the integration process, she worked closely with their parents on school committees. She founded the Chapel-Hill Carrboro school system’s Special Education Program and taught classes in the school system for 35 years.
In addition to her teaching career, Hargraves was an active member of the St. Paul AME Church, the Preservation Society of Chapel Hill, Friends of the Chapel Hill Library, the Orange County Women’s Center, and Chapel Hill Museum. In 1996, Frances carried the torch through Chapel Hill for the Senior Olympic Games. She died in 2002, shortly after being recognized for her teaching and community organizing at an event held in the Horace Williams House.