RALEIGH, N.C.  – North Carolina Democrats are honoring the first black chief justice of the state Supreme Court by adding his name to an annual party dinner.

The party says the annual Sanford Hunt dinner set for Aug. 29 in Charlotte has been changed to the Sanford Hunt Frye dinner to venerate Henry Frye of Greensboro. The event already is named for

Gov. Jim Hunt and the late governor and U.S. Sen. Terry Sanford. Hunt appointed Frye to the Supreme Court in 1983 and elevated him to chief justice in 1999, where he served until 2001. Frye also became the first black person elected to the Legislature in 1968. Party spokeswoman Kerra Bolton said Frye is a model to all North Carolina residents and not just black citizens.