Early Black Agricultural Educators Overcame Adversity
Greensboro, NC: Land-grant institutions and the people who once walked their halls played significant roles in the history of black North Carolinians. For evidence of this, one need look no further than North Carolina A&T State University's Agriculture Hall of Fame.
From an early Extension educator who visited area farmers on a bicycle to a former dean who led groundbreaking efforts in distance education, North Carolina A&T State University's School of Agriculture has been a connecting point for African-American pioneers in North Carolina's agriculture community.
"In our zeal to anticipate and prepare for the future, we sometimes forget about the richness of our past," said Dr. Daniel D. Godfrey, dean of NC A&T's School of Agriculture. "Our Hall of Fame stands as a testimony to the importance of early work which enables us to do what we do today."
An early inductee into the Hall of Fame was John W. Mitchell (1886-1955), a 1908 graduate of NC A&T. After serving as an assistant principal of the Fayetteville State Normal School and principal of the Rosenwald School in Aberdeen, Mitchell became an Extension agent in 1917.
While working for Extension, Mitchell covered three southeastern counties, using a bicycle or horse as transportation, as he helped farmers learn about and adopt progressive agricultural practices. Also during this time, he organized the Eastern Columbus Credit Union, an organization designed to help African American farmers buy supplies in bulk at substantial savings.
In 1924, Mitchell moved to the Extension Service district office at A&T, where he directed Extension activities for black North Carolinians for more than 15 counties. In 1939, he became the state agent in charge of extension activities for African Americans in North Carolina. In 1943, he began the supervision of African American Extension activities for nine Southern states, including North and South Carolina. Eventually, he supervised the African American extension activities of 17 Southern states, from USDA offices in Washington, D.C.
A pioneer in agricultural education for minorities, Sidney B. Simmons (1893-1957) received an agricultural education degree from A&T in 1914. In 1924, he returned to A&T to teach agricultural education. In 1930, he became the assistant state supervisor of vocational agricultural education for African American schools.
From 1935-1955, he served as National Executive Secretary of the New Farmers of America, an organization which he helped to found. Following World War II, he directed the Veteran on the Farm Training Program in North Carolina's African American high schools. In 1946, he served as a member of the Committee on Education of the United States Congress, gaining national recognition in the form of medals presented to him by Presidents Roosevelt and Truman.
John C. McLaughlin (1894-1996) was a 1931 graduate of NC A&T, enrolling after overseas duty during World War I.
McLaughlin taught at Alcorn A&M College for five years, before returning to A&T in 1937 to serve as the dean of the School of Agriculture.
As dean, McLaughlin was instrumental in establishing A&T's first graduate curriculum, and this effort culminated in A&T's first graduate degree, which was conferred in 1941. Following a successful tenure as dean, McLaughlin remained at A&T as a professor of social psychology and rural sociology for several more years.
In 1942, McLaughlin was appointed Deputy Administrator, Negro Division, War Savings Staff, for the State of North Carolina, by the U.S. Treasury Department.
William E. Reed succeeded McLaughlin as dean of the School of Agriculture in 1949. During his tenure as dean, Reed worked to expand the number of degrees offered by the School of Agriculture from two to seven.
Prior to accepting the position at A&T, Reed worked as an assistant Negro County agent for the Louisiana Extension Service, as a teacher at Southern University and as a soil specialist on the U.S. State Department's Economic Mission to the Republic of Liberia.
Reed served as the dean of the School of Agriculture until 1961, when he became the Department of State's representative to the Republic of Togo, and then assistant director of the State Department's Western Nigeria bureau, a position he held until 1968. Also, during a leave of absence from A&T, Reed served two years as Chief of Party, International Cooperation Administration International Development Services Contact Team to Ghana.
From 1968 to 1972, Reed served as Deputy Mission Director to Ethiopia for the Department of State's Agency for International Development. Reed then served as Officer in Residence at A&T for the U.S. Agency for International Development until 1974, when he became the A&T chancellor's special assistant for international programs, a position he held until 1984.
Dr. Burleigh C. Webb, a former student in NC A&T's School of Agriculture, began his academic career at Tuskegee University and Alabama A & M University before returning to his alma mater. He began as a professor of chemistry at NC A&T and later assumed the administrative position as dean of the School of Agriculture.
During his tenure, Webb was instrumental in establishing many programs, including master's level programs within all departments of the School of Agriculture. In addition, he guided the development of nationally accredited Agricultural Engineering, Landscape Architecture and Laboratory Animal Science programs.
Webb was also instrumental in initiating a program of distance education within the School, which is also the first program of its kind on an historically black land-grant college campus.
"The people in our Agriculture Hall of Fame set a stage of opportunity for North Carolina's African Americans," said Godfrey. "Remembering that legacy during Black History Month is very appropriate."