Former 'Charlotte Observer' Reporter Walls Dead at 76

By: A former reporter for The Charlotte Observer who also wrote books about the migrations of blacks and poor people from the South has died.

The Palmetto Cremation Society confirmed 76-year-old Dwayne Walls died Thursday. Friends say he had Alzheimer's disease.

Walls served in the Air Force during the Korean War. He was hired by the Charlotte newspaper in 1961, writing stories about the inner workings of the Ku Klux Klan and exposing vote-buying schemes.

Walls left the newspaper to write books. "The Chickenbone Special" was published in 1970 and dealt with blacks moving from the South for better opportunities in the Northeast. He also wrote about poor people in the Appalachians moving to the Midwest.