What they're saying

JULIUS CHAMBERS, 72, CHARLOTTE LAWYER:

Chambers, a civil rights lawyer, had his house, office and car bombed during the civil rights era in Charlotte. He became head of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and chancellor of N.C. Central University.

"It was exciting to see Obama win the election. It's been a long struggle he picked up and succeeded with. It says to me that America has moved a long way from where I knew America to be just a few years ago, particularly when I started practicing.

"It opens up a number of opportunities that we thought were foreclosed to African-Americans and other minorities over the years."

HENRY FRYE, 76, GREENSBORO LAWYER:

Frye was the first black elected to North Carolina's state legislature in the 20th century. He also rose to become chief justice of the state Supreme Court. He was rejected the first time he tried to register to vote because he could not name five signers of the Declaration of Independence or the 12th president of the United States.

"The right circumstances have to come together. The thing that may have pushed it over the top is the terrible economic news we've had over the last month or so. But beyond that, the most significant thing is that North Carolina can vote and will vote for a minority."

HARVEY GANTT, 65, CHARLOTTE ARCHITECT AND FORMER MAYOR:

Gantt twice ran for the U.S. Senate against Republican Jesse Helms . T h e 1990 race was marked by a racially charged television ad Helms ran against Gantt.

" I think it means the nature ... of North Carolina changed substantially from those races in the 1990s. It's a younger population. It's a much more moderate population. The urban centers are much more influential in terms of North Carolina -- Charlotte, the Triangle, the Triad, Wilmington and Asheville."

JOHN HOPE FRANKLIN, 93, PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF HISTORY AT DUKE UNIVERSITY:

Franklin is best known for his work "From Slavery to Freedom," a history of the African-American experience that was first published in 1947. In 1995, Franklin was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.

"This is one of the most historic moments, if not the most historic moment in the history of this country. I knew that it would come sooner or later. I had the chance to meet and talk with him, so I was not shocked or terribly surprised, because he is a winner."