CHARLES BELK
1963 → TODAY · 8 STOPS · 86 COUNTRIES · 7 STATE LAWS

My Journey

From a Durham front porch to USC, Wall Street, IBM, the Olympics, Hollywood, a curb in Greater Los Angeles, seven statehouses and the world. Tap any boarding pass to open everything from that stop.

Begin the journey ↓
BOARDING PASSSEAT 1A
FROMRDUDurham, 1963
✈
TOWORLDStill going
PASSENGERCHARLES BELK
CLASSACTIVE CITIZEN
STOP01DURHAM
1963 · Durham, North Carolina

Durham, North Carolina

A Durham kid with a big smile and somewhere to be.

RDU
  1. 1963Born in Durham, North Carolina.
  2. 1964Morehead Avenue Baptist Church.
  3. 1966Saint Mark Church Nursery School.
  4. 1969Morehead Elementary School.
  5. 1970Lyon Park Elementary School.
  6. 1975Rogers-Herr Junior High School.
  7. 1977Hillside High School: football, basketball, track, golf and chorus.
  8. 1979Junior class president.
  9. 1980Summer pre-med program at UNC-Chapel Hill. First concert: the Commodores.
  10. 1981Graduates from Hillside, the only one of about 400 classmates to go west for college.
Day one. Durham, N.C.
Day one. Durham, N.C.
Already smiling for the camera.
Already smiling for the camera.
First set of wheels. The road was calling.
First set of wheels. The road was calling.
Hillside High never forgot him (2016).
Hillside High never forgot him (2016).
Durham → Los Angeles · 2,215 miles · off to USC
STOP02USC
1981 · Los Angeles + Bloomington

USC and Indiana University

An engineer from USC who turned down Cornell for an MBA at Indiana.

LAX
  1. 1981University of Southern California: B.S. in Electrical Engineering. NSBE chapter president; two terms on NSBE’s national board as public relations chair; Trojan Knights, Blue Key, Skull & Dagger, Student Senate.
  2. 1984Summer: volunteer, Sports Information, Los Angeles Olympic Games.
  3. 1985USC honors: the Bill West “Student of Students” Award, the Distinguished Graduating Senior Award and the Outstanding Engineering Student Leader Award.
  4. 1985Turns down a GEM Fellowship to Cornell for a full scholarship to Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business.
  5. 1987MBA in Marketing, Indiana University.
Fight On! Back at USC for the 30th reunion, 2015.
Fight On! Back at USC for the 30th reunion, 2015.
USC · 1985Student of StudentsBill West Award · Distinguished Graduating Senior · Outstanding Engineering Student LeaderADMIT ONE
Bloomington → New York → back home to Durham
STOP03WALL ST + IBM
1987 · New York + Research Triangle Park

Wall Street, IBM and Durham civic life

A bond trader, an IBM manager and a planning commissioner, all before 32.

NYC
  1. 1987First passport, first backpack: Luxembourg, Germany, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Yugoslavia, Austria, Switzerland and France.
  2. 1987Government bond trader, Manufacturers Hanover, New York.
  3. 1988IBM, Research Triangle Park: from contracts administrator to product management manager on the PS/2 line; saves $8 million through process reengineering; chosen for IBM’s Early Identification Executive Development Program.
  4. 1988Member, Durham Planning Commission.
  5. 1993Owner, Bodyfit: The Fitness Apparel Store, grown to 3 locations in Raleigh-Durham.
  6. 1994Married.
1985 to 2010: one photo a year. Twenty-five years on the move.
1985 to 2010: one photo a year. Twenty-five years on the move.
Durham → Atlanta · 348 miles · the Olympics are coming
STOP04ATLANTA
1995 · Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta: the Olympics, the Hawks and Hothouse

The 1996 Olympics put 15,000 athletes in his care.

ATL
  1. 1995Moves to Atlanta.
  2. 1995Deputy Director, Olympic Village Operations, Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games: housing, food and transportation for about 15,000 athletes.
  3. 1997First trip to South Africa: a month in Johannesburg.
  4. 1997Atlanta Hawks, Community and Public Affairs.
  5. 1998Hothouse Inc.: first employee to Vice President, Integrated Promotions. Billings grow 1,200%. adidas Week at Macy’s Herald Square with Run-DMC, NIKE Presto Beach, the Braves on TBS Super Tour.
  6. 1998Producer, “Love & Relationships with Joyce Littel,” V-103.
  7. 2002On national TV: featured on “Iyanla,” Iyanla Vanzant’s syndicated talk show, as one of Atlanta’s “overlooked and eligible” bachelors, put forward by a friend he volunteered with at United Way.
  8. Along the wayPuerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Hawaii, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Brazil and Cancún, Mexico.
ATLANTA · 1996Olympic VillageDeputy Director, Olympic Village Operations · about 15,000 athletes housed, fed and movedADMIT ONE
ON AIR
Running the Olympic VillageLife FM (South Africa), Nov 1, 2024 · 50 sec
NOW SHOWING
On “Iyanla,” 2002 · 3:09 · Iyanla Vanzant’s talk show: “overlooked and eligible”
Atlanta → Los Angeles · 1,932 miles · Hollywood
STOP05HOLLYWOOD
2007 · Los Angeles

Los Angeles: marketing, management and production

Promotions, talent, television, comedy, film and the NAACP Image Awards.

LAX
  1. 2007Moves to Los Angeles. VP, Marketing, Juice Wireless (JuiceCaster).
  2. 2007President, Charles Belk Management. Associate producer, Angie Stone’s “Baby” music video, directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood.
  3. 2008“The Greatest Song.” Founds I Will Make You A Star Productions. Backstage quotes him as a talent manager.
  4. 2009Executive producer and director, “Comedy Freestyle,” at the Comedy Central Stage at the Hudson.
  5. 2009Producer and project manager, the NAACP’s interactive history timeline. Adjunct professor of marketing, Los Angeles Pierce College.
  6. 2010Producer, the feature comedy “Douglass U.” NAACP Image Awards: talent, submissions, red carpet and media center roles; the awards’ first social media campaign.
  7. 2014Creates the NAACP Talent Development Institute. Recognized by the Los Angeles Business Journal at its 2014 Nonprofit & Corporate Citizenship Awards (Volunteer category).
His show, his stage: Comedy Freestyle, 2009.
His show, his stage: Comedy Freestyle, 2009.
Backstage at the NAACP Image Awards, 2009.
Backstage at the NAACP Image Awards, 2009.
Slate up. On set of “Douglass U.”
Slate up. On set of “Douglass U.”
Professor Belk, Pierce College.
Professor Belk, Pierce College.
August 22, 2014 · one wrong stop
STOP06THE CURB
2014 · Greater Los Angeles

The arrest that changed everything

He “fit the description.” What he did next is why you’re here.

8/22
  1. Aug 22, 2014On his way to a pre-Emmy event, he is stopped in Greater Los Angeles because he “fit the description.” Handcuffed on the curb, booked, held under $100,000 bail and released about six hours later. The department’s own certificate calls it “a detention only, not an arrest.”
  2. Aug 2014His Facebook post is shared 37,000+ times in a week. CNN, MSNBC, Al Jazeera America and NBC4 Los Angeles follow.
  3. Aug 29, 2014A week later, talks by Skype to two sections of an Ethics class at North Carolina Central University.
  4. Sept 7, 2014Starts the #AutoErase™ petition to every attorney general in the country.
  5. Sept 2014Six weeks, six panels: the NAACP California hearing, then Capitol Hill and three panels at the Congressional Black Caucus conference, one live on C-SPAN.
Read the full 2014 Story →
Handcuffed on a curb. Six police cars. 45 minutes.
Handcuffed on a curb. Six police cars. 45 minutes.
“A detention only, not an arrest.” The department’s own words.
“A detention only, not an arrest.” The department’s own words.
ON AIR
“The third option”Life FM (South Africa), Nov 1, 2024 · 70 sec
From a curb to the statehouse
STOP07STATEHOUSES
2015 · 19 states by car

#AutoErase™ goes to the statehouses

A Facebook post became a petition, then two road tours, then the law in seven states.

19 ST
  1. 2015Rhode Island’s House passes a resolution honoring him (Feb 12). Back at the department’s roll calls: “…I’m a friend of the department.”
  2. 2015#AutoErase Tour 1: 52 days, over 4,000 miles by car.
  3. 2015Aug 6: North Carolina signs the first #AutoErase law. Gov. Pat McCrory hands him the pen: “You’re a hero, man.”
  4. 2015The national Hispanic and Black caucuses of state legislators pass resolutions supporting #AutoErase.
  5. 2016#AutoErase Tour 2: 21 days, 19 states, 3,424 miles. Durham proclaims “Charles Belk and Justified AutoErasure Day” (Mar 10). Testifies in person in Connecticut (Mar 18).
  6. 2016Illinois, Colorado and Rhode Island laws follow. National finalist, Ford Freedom Unsung Award. Back at NCCU in person to teach future social workers how to testify (Nov 3).
  7. 2017Testifies before the Kansas Senate Judiciary Committee (Feb 15). Kansas and Missouri laws take effect that summer.
The whole crew came to Raleigh. State #1.
The whole crew came to Raleigh. State #1.
The pen. The law. The first state.
The pen. The law. The first state.
State #4: Rhode Island.
State #4: Rhode Island.
21 days. 19 states. 3,424 miles.
21 days. 19 states. 3,424 miles.
NOW SHOWING
From the curb to the statehouse, 2014–2017 · 2:44 video story · 60-second cut
Next: the world · 86 countries and counting
STOP08THE WORLD
2016 · Johannesburg + 86 countries

The world as a classroom

Two months in Costa Rica to write turned into 86 countries.

JNB
  1. 2016November: two months in Costa Rica, writing in the mountains and jungles. The travels begin.
  2. 2019NAACP National Convention, Detroit. A week in Ghana becomes 18 months on the continent.
  3. 2020Rides out the COVID lockdown in Johannesburg.
  4. 2021Mounts a sold-out first solo exhibition in Johannesburg for a young Kenyan artist he mentors.
  5. 2022Testifies before the Maryland Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee (Feb 1).
  6. 2024Sept 1: moves to Johannesburg, South Africa.
  7. 2025Producer, Trophy Lounge and Distribution, NAACP Image Awards.
  8. 2026South Carolina’s Act 248 becomes law (June 25). A 28-day cruise brings country #86, Vatican City. Seven states have passed laws from his #AutoErase work.
NOW SHOWING
Costa Rica: the beginning days · Dec 2016 · 0:46
ON AIR
Why South Africa? In his own words.NFM radio (South Africa), Nov 5, 2024 · 58 sec
PASSPORT86 countries and counting

Tap a year to stamp the passport.

DEPARTURES

Next stop

2027100 COUNTRIESON TIME
2027KEYNOTES WORLDWIDEBOARDING
DEC 22 2026SC ACT 248 DEADLINESSCHEDULED

Goals, not promises. Want him at your event on the way? Book Charles · See him in the news

LIVE ON THIS PAGE– visits– photo views– plays– stories opened– stops explored

Souvenirs from the road: honors and recognition

Feb 12, 2015Rhode Island House Resolution H 5448 honoring Charles Belk
March 10, 2016“Charles Belk and Justified AutoErasure Day,” City of Durham proclamation (proclaimed March 7, 2016)
Nov 21, 2015National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators Resolution 2015-09, supporting #AutoErase
Dec 4, 2015National Black Caucus of State Legislators Resolution LJE-16-22, supporting #AutoErase
2016Ford Freedom Unsung Award, national finalist
2014Recognized by the Los Angeles Business Journal at its 2014 Nonprofit & Corporate Citizenship Awards (Volunteer category)
Aug 6, 2015Called “a hero” by North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory at the bill signing
1985USC: Bill West “Student of Students” Award; Distinguished Graduating Senior Award; Outstanding Engineering Student Leader Award

Where he served along the way

Years marked “about” are from Charles’s recollection; official rolls aren’t online.

  • 1983–1985NSBE National Board of Directors, two terms, public relations chair
  • 1988–1994Durham Planning Commission
  • 1992–1994Durham County transportation board
  • Durham yearsFounding board member, RTP chapter, National Black MBA Association
  • About 1998–2002Cobb County Transit Advisory Board
  • About 1999–2001House of Love for the Homeless
  • 2002–2003Jomandi Theater
  • 2002–2004Georgia CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates); chair, Marketing and Communications
  • 2003–2006Hughes Spalding Children’s Hospital
  • Early 2000sUnited Way of Greater Atlanta, Volunteer Involvement Program
  • 2007–2008Silver Lake Film Festival
  • 2007–2008Downtown Los Angeles Film Festival, inaugural board
  • 2007–2008USC Black Alumni Association

What people said along the way

“You’re a hero, man.”

“I’d like to recognize Charles Belk as a #gamechanger.”

“Charles turns his own wrongful arrest into a lesson about what every one of us can do. Audiences leave with a plan, not just a story.”

“Charles has a gift for making students believe they can do more than one thing. He’s living proof of it.”

“A true Godsend to our organization.”

“You made a difference in Colorado!”

Recommended

From colleagues’ LinkedIn recommendations, 2006–2011.

“A people centric servant leader.”

“His compassion for children was readily apparent.”

“A great boss, mentor.”

“A very detail-oriented and results driven VP.”