FILE PHOTO

Former N.C. Rep. Pete Cunningham and wife Carla in an undated photo in the state House chamber. Cunningham died Tuesday at age 81.

Former N.C. Rep. W. Pete Cunningham died early this morning in Charlotte. He was 81.

Cunningham, a Democrat, represented the 107th House district, which included Mecklenburg County. He served 11 two-year terms in the General Assembly before resigning in 2007.

Cunningham, a real estate investor, once owned the Historic Excelsior Club, a west Charlotte landmark that is best known as an entertainment and political hub for African Americans, worked with black nationalist Robert Williams and the Monroe NAACP branch in the 1950s and ‘60s. Cunningham served in the Navy for 16 years and was an Army paratrooper for 4 years.

Funeral arrangements are incomplete.

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