James B. Dudley

Dudley was born on November 2, 1859. He was born into slavery; his parents were owned by Edward B. Dudley the Governor of North Carolina from 1836 to 1841. As a slave of the former governor, the governor greatly influenced Dudley. One of the governor's ideals was that everyone should be educated. Dudley took these ideas to heart and they affected his approach for the rest of his life.[1][2][5]

Because most of the schools in the area were shut down after the American Civil War due to insufficient funding,[1] Dudley wasn't able to attend school until 1867 when the Freedmen's Bureau funded a missionary school in his area. Dudley was one of the first students to enroll. He later attended public schools when they opened in his area, and learned Latin. After going through the public school system, Dudley attended the Institute for Colored Youth in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For college Dudley attended Shaw College in Raleigh, North Carolina. Throughout his education he focused on learning to become an educator. In 1880, at age 21, Dudley passed the North Carolina state exam required to obtain a teacher's certificate. Later he attended Harvard summer school and gained an M.A. from Livingstone College and an LL.D. from Wilberforce University.[1][5]

In 1895, the North Carolina legislature appointed Dudley to the Board of Trustees for the college. Later that year, he was made secretary of the board, a position he served in until 1896 when the President, John O. Crosby, resigned. At the next meeting of the board, Dudley was voted unanimously to become the second president of the college.[1][2][4] While president, Dudley focused on modifying the curriculum towards jobs that were currently available. He wanted the men and women who attended his college to be able to get jobs and "raise the standard of living among their people." His additions to the curriculum included the teaching of carpentry; woodturning; bricklaying; blacksmithing; animal husbandry; horticulture and floriculture; mattress and broom making; shoemaking; poultry raising; tailoring; electrical engineering; and domestic science. As well as adding these specific classes, Dudley also added an entire teaching department to the school, that taught students how to be a teacher while placing special emphasis on "courtesy, manners, and an appreciation to culture in general." He also added a summer school program.[1][5]

Dudley's career ended while he was president at the college. In early April, Dudley left the college due to sudden severe headaches to go home and rest. For several days Dudley was able to attend to his duties from his home, until he unexpectedly died on April 4, 1925 at the age of 65.[1] Dudley was buried in the Pine Forest cemetery on the northern end of 16th street in Wilmington, his home town.[3] In 1929 A High School on the Eastside of Greensboro North Carolina was named after him in his honor serving The Dudley Heights, Clinton Hill, and Lincoln Heights communities on the Eastside of Greensboro N.C. becoming the first black High School in the City.