Longtime educator and civil rights activist Dr. Bertha Todd has died
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY — The Wilmington community is remembering Dr. Bertha Boykin Todd, a pioneering educator and civic leader whose impact spanned generations. Williston Middle School shared news of her death on Tuesday, saying the school is “grieving today as we say goodbye to one of our greats,” and calling Todd someone “who helped shape Wilmington.”
Todd was born in Sampson County, the daughter of two educators. Her father was the first principal of a comprehensive high school in Garland, and her mother taught third grade. She was an identical twin to the late Dr. Myrtle Boykin Sampson and grew up in a large blended family with 12 siblings.
After attending North Carolina College at Durham, now North Carolina Central University, Todd earned an undergraduate degree in biology and a master’s degree in library science. She later completed a second master’s degree and an Ed.S. in administration and supervision from East Carolina University.
Todd moved to New Hanover County as a media specialist and spent 39 years in the school system, ultimately retiring as Director of Staff Development. Her influence stretched far beyond the classroom. She served on the New Hanover County Human Relations Commission, the Adult Advisory to the Board of Education, and was active in civic organizations including AKA, Inc. and The Links, Inc.
Her work in social justice was widely recognized. Todd served on an advisory board to Gov. James Hunt early in his administration and became a spokesperson in the effort urging the governor to commute the sentences of the Wilmington 10.
“I knew seven of The Wilmington Ten,” Todd told WWAY last year. “They went to Hoggard. I knew one from the community. And one young man told me ‘Mrs. Todd, I wasn’t anywhere near Mike’s Grocery. I was baby-sitting that night for my sister.’”
She also spent 13 years working with the 1898 Memorial Foundation and authored several books preserving local history.
Over the years, Todd received numerous honors, including the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the YWCA Lifetime Achievement Award, a StarNews Lifetime Achievement Award and an honorary Doctorate of Humanities from UNC Wilmington. In 2018, she was asked by District Attorney Ben David to co-chair the 50th anniversary commemoration of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Todd was married to the late Edward “Mack” Todd and leaves behind two children: Rita Denise, a retired educator, and Brian Edward, a captain with Delta Air Lines.
Williston Middle School encouraged the community to honor her legacy “by carrying forward the spirit she showed every day.”
President of the NAACP New Hanover County Branch, LeRon Montgomery, remarked on her legacy saying “I’m very thankful for the contributions she had made to the city, and to equality and civil rights for all people. She was a pioneer in our community and we have lost a treasure here on Earth.”
Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.
