Alice Ballance

1992 Honoree

Social activism and good works have made Mrs. Alice Ballance a living legend in North Carolina. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. coined the phrase "beloved community," and "Miss Alice," as she is lovingly called, has dedicated her life to making it a reality in Bertie County.

Her father owned his farm and was mentor and counselor to tenant farmers living nearby. "Miss Alice" learned many of his caring and sharing ways.

After high school graduation, she married Frank W. Ballance, Sr. and they had four children. As a farmer's wife she worked in the fields and prepared family meals, but in the evening she helped neighbors fill out their social security forms. During the civil rights struggle of the 1960s, "Miss Alice" taught her friends and neighbors how to read and register to vote.

In 1966, "Miss Alice" testified before a U.S. Senate Committee on behalf of the poor and disadvantaged people of Bertie County. Impressed by her appeal, Congress granted 5467,000 to the organization she founded, the People's Program on Poverty.

"Miss Alice" continues to help her friends and neighbors. She gives the information, courage and skills that increase their sense of self-worth. In 1977, she started the Kiddie World Day Care Center, her favorite project; she has also opened a day care center for elderly adults. This community leader is among the vanguard in a struggle for affordable dental and medical care in Bertie County.

In 1990, "Miss Alice" won national recognition when she received a 525,000 Nancy Susan Reynolds Award for social change. Still, her struggle for social and economic justice continues.