James Benson Dudley (November 2, 1859 – April 4, 1925) was President of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University from 1896 until his death in 1925. James B. Dudley High School in the town of Greensboro, North Carolina, where the Agricultural and Technical University is located, was named after Dudley because of his work for his community.
Early life
Dudley was born on November 2, 1859. Dudley was an infant slave, born into slavery; his parents were owned by Edward B. Dudley the Governor of North Carolina from 1836 to 1841. The governor had a great impact on Dudley. One of the governor's thoughts was that all people need to be educated. Dudley kept these ideas in mind, and they affected everything he did for the rest of his life.
Education
Most of the schools in the area were closed after the American Civil War because there was not enough money. Dudley was not able to go to school until 1867 (age 8) when a private school opened. Dudley was one of the first students to enroll. Dudley later went to public schools when they opened in his area, and learned Latin. After going to public school, Dudley attended the Institute for Colored Youth in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For college Dudley attended Shaw College in Raleigh, North Carolina. During his education he focused on learning to become an teacher. In 1880, at age 21, Dudley took the North Carolina state test needed to become a teacher, and passed. Later he attended Harvard summer school and gained an Master of Arts from Livingstone College and a doctorate degree from Wilberforce University.
Employment
Peabody Graded School
Dudley worked as a teacher. He first taught in a first-grade classroom in Sampson County. The following year he became principal of Peabody Graded School in Wilmington, North Carolina in 1881. The school at this time was one of a few "very good public schools for African Americans" in the area. He spent the next 15 years teaching in Wilmington. He was also President of the State Teachers' Association For Negroes for six years.
Other Roles
He also worked editing and publishing the Wilmington Chronicle. He worked with the Chronicle for fifteen years. He was also register of deeds in Wilmington for a period of time, and organized the Perpetual Building and Loan Association.
For twenty years he was the foreign correspondent for the Grand Lodge of Masons. He also represented the Republican Party at several conventions. In 1896 he attended the Republican National Convention in St. Louis, Missouri. As an influential person in the Republican Party, as well as having connections with the Farmer's Alliance, he helped to pass a bill in 1891 that led to the establishment of The Agricultural and Mechanical College for the Colored Race, which was later renamed North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. In 1912 Dudley, along with the help of the director of the Agricultural Division of the college, Professor J.H. Bluford, organized the Farmers' Union and Co-operative Society. This group helped local unions in each county of the state. The aim of the society, which was said to have raised the living standards of African American farms in the area, was "to discourage the credit and mortgage system among Negro farmers in North Carolina; to assist them in the buying and selling of products; to control methods of production and distribution of farm products; and to secure uniform prices."