A new building in Orange County is being named after a longtime resident who broke racial barriers as the first Black person to work at the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service during a time of racial segregation.
At its meeting this week, the Orange County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to name a new environmental and agricultural center in honor of Bonnie B. Davis. Davis was Orange County’s first Black agricultural extension agent and a community builder. She died in 2018 at the age of 92.
Chair of the Orange County Board of Commissioners Renee Price said naming the building after Davis is well-deserved, as she spent her 40-year career with Orange County helping residents have better lives.
“We were going to call it the Orange County Environment and Agricultural Center – something very generic – but we’re going to actually name that new building after Bonnie B. Davis, who was an African American woman who did so much in Orange County breaking down color barriers and helping people in the rural areas,” Price said.
As an agricultural extension agent, Davis worked to provide the latest industry information to farmers, ranchers and community youth groups. Agricultural extension agents work to share details on scientific advances, farm management, marketing, production, and other topics that are relevant to agricultural businesses in their area.
Davis was hired as the first Black agent at the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service in 1950, at a time when racial segregation was still prevalent in Orange County. Price said Davis was not allowed to use the bathroom at her own place of work, but rather had to use an outhouse.
“It’s hard to believe that it was just in the 1950s and 60s, but she couldn’t use the bathroom because everything was segregated,” Price said. “She stood up for the rights of people.”
Davis worked with the extension service for more than four decades before retiring in 1990. According to the county, she began her career during the era of segregation but “proved to be a calming influence throughout the integration of the Orange County Extension Service.”
Davis continued to be an active member of the Orange County community for several years after her retirement, serving on dozens of boards and committees. She won the Pauli Murray Award for her service in pursuit of justice, equality and human rights for all citizens and was a founding member of the Friends of Orange County Social Services.
“She just about did it all,” Price said. “So many people had so many good things to say about her, so it was really a no brainer.”
A ribbon-cutting at the Bonnie B. Davis Environmental and Agricultural Center, which is being built on U.S. 70 west of Hillsborough, is expected later this year. This will be the county’s second building named for a Black person.
“It’s going to be an exciting moment when we cut that ribbon,” Price said.
Lead photo via Orange County Government.
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