Thanks to Marsha Washington George of the Natioinal Black Radio Hall of Fame, she let us know that Hattie “Chatty Hatty” Leeper, the pioneering Charlotte, North Carolina radio announcer, died at the age of 98. Pictured below: Hattie Chatty with Marsha Washington George when she was Inducted in St. Louis in 2022
Her family announced her peaceful passing, Tuesday, October 13, 2026. Leeper broke significant gender and racial barriers starting in the 1940s and 1950s, becoming the first Black female radio announcer in North Carolina while broadcasting on Charlotte’s WGIV.
Local news coverage and archival video features documenting her legendary career and induction into the National Black Radio Hall of Fame can be viewed through the WCNC Charlotte YouTube Channel.
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