| Summary: | Politician Herbert U. Fielding was born on July 6, 1923, in Charleston, South Carolina. After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, he received his B.S. degree from West Virginia State College in 1948. In 1952, he began running the family business, Fielding Home for Funeral Services, the largest African American-owned and operated funeral home in South Carolina, founded in 1912 by his father. During the Civil Rights Movement, he mobilized African Americans to register to vote. In 1970, Fielding became the first black representative elected to the South Carolina legislature since Reconstruction. In 1985, he was elected to South Carolina's State Senate; he later served as the Chairperson of the South Carolina Legislative Black Caucus. The Department of Transportation honored him by naming Highway 61, from James Island Expressway to South Carolina Route 61 in Charleston County, the Herbert U. Fielding Connector. Fielding passed away on August 10, 2015.
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