Remembering “Chatty Hattie” Leeper
The late Hattie Leeper devoted her life to breaking barriers and inspiring generations as a broadcasting pioneer.Better known as her beloved radio persona, “Chatty Hattie,” Leeper added another honor to her storied career in October 2025 when she was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame.
An Edgemoor, S.C., native, Leeper first gained acclaim as a student at Charlotte’s old Second Ward High School when she began an 18-year career at old WGIV-AM 1600 as the first African-American female announcer in the Charlotte market.
Leeper earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UNC Charlotte, all while building a broadcasting career that included championing musical acts and opening doors for others.
In 1973, Leeper’s iconic voice left the airwaves, but her passion for communication found new life in the classroom. She inspired students at Johnson C. Smith University and Gaston College, where she served as the chair of the radio and television broadcasting program, until her retirement in 1998.
Current Gaston College Board of Trustees chairman Jesse Caldwell remembers listening to Leeper while he grew up in Gastonia.
“In the 60s, I used to listen on WGIV radio,” Caldwell said. “It was rare to hear a female DJ back then. So Chatty Hattie was a trailblazer and, really, she was a visionary.”
Leeper has fond memories of her time at Gaston College’s WSGE-FM 91.7 radio station. “I enjoyed that part of the growing of the station because you had to do more than just be inside,” Leeper recalled when she was interviewed on WSGE in 2020. “
You had to get out and sell to people in the community, to government officials and the trustees. When we finished teaching our classes, we would go to our offices and take phone calls and make phone calls to get donations to the college and the station. There was never a dull moment. It was a hobby. It wasn’t hard work at all.”
Leeper’s legacy is reflected in the many major honors she received throughout her life.
- In 1989, she was one of 20 inaugural inductees (and the only female) to the Black Radio Hall of Fame in Washington, D.C.
- In 2004, she was one of 14 inaugural inductees (and only female and African-American) to Gaston College’s “Wall of Fame.”
- In 2015, she became the first female and African-American inducted into the Charlotte Broadcasting Hall of Fame.
- She was also honored by the N.C. Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
