Agenda - 03-16-2021; 4-a - Resolution Re-naming the New Orange County Environmental Agricultural Center (EAC) to the Orange County Bonnie B. Davis Environmental and Agricultural Center

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10 Mrs. Davis used her power and authority as an extension agent to uniquely influence race relations. I remember Mrs. Davis visiting my mother to check in on sewing projects and cooking projects. It was confusing to me because I knew my mother came from an Indigenous family known for their cooking and sewing skills. Months later, I remember riding with my mother to Cole Mill Road in Durham. We pulled up to a large white house and mother went inside. I waited in the car for about an hour before my mother returned. When mother returned, we went home without discussing what happened in the big white house. A few weeks later, I saw my mother on television appearing on the Peggy Mann Show. Mother was demonstrating how to cook a particular dish. Mother did a series of appearances demonstrating cooking and sewing. I was nearly an adult when I learned that mother had been one of this area's first People of Color to appear as a guest on the Peggy Mann Show. Mrs. Davis expanded Orange County's extension services among African Americans by encouraging home economics clubs to form 4-H clubs. My mother sprang into action and formed Eno 4-H Club. Although we had 4-H agents to come around and assist us with our meetings and projects, Ms. Davis visited independently. I began membership within our 4-H club with my first project being Bicycle Care and Repair. From there I moved into sewing. The sewing project included a competition where one modeled the article of clothing she made. I was extremely thin and painfully shy in my youth. With the encouragement of Ms. Davis, I actually, got on the homemade platform, which served as our runway, in the middle of University Mall in Chapel Hill and I modeled my outfit. I do not remember if I won the first time or second time, but I did win first place in my age group. The accolades from the audience and Mrs. Davis' act of introducing me as the winner and introducing me to strangers so they could ask me about my jumpsuit diminished my shyness. A large part of my shyness stemmed from a speech impediment discovered early in my childhood. With the support of Ms. Davis, my mother declined the offer to place me in what would now be an exceptional children's curriculum. By the time I reached middle school, Mrs. Davis suggested that I should participate in the 4H speaking contest. Certain that I was doomed for death, I figured it was easier to just do it, endure the heckling, and be done for life. I wrote a speech about a popular subject in the news. Mrs. Davis approved the speech and instructed my mother to have me recite it daily. I did so. Mrs. Davis would drop in and gently correct me on pronunciation and enunciation. I followed her instructions. On the evening of the contest, we went to Hillsborough to the building that currently houses Adult Probation/Parole and The Department of Juvenile Justice. When my name was called, I managed to go to the front and stand behind the podium. recited my speech taking care to slow down to enunciate certain words and I remembered not to use local dialect when pronouncing other words. At the end of the competition, I was the winner. That event, and other strategic opportunities suggested by Mrs. Davis-including working as a prosecutor in Orange County, led to my 26 year career of public service within my community of origin. I am aware that Mrs. Davis' influence covers many African Americans in Orange County. I am not sure of all that she has done for others but I know how her influence shaped my life making me the person I am today.