February is Black History Month

February is Black History Month, and the theme for 2022 is Black Health and Wellness. This current pandemic has highlighted the disparities in healthcare, and notably, African Americans currently have a lower vaccination rate than white Americans. While I encourage everyone to seek healthy lifestyles, I particularly want to urge Black women, men and children to have regular checkups and screenings. The Orange County Health Department has a Health Promotion and Education Team, and our Cooperative Extension offers a wealth of programming on Health and Nutrition.

Highlighting our first Black Commissioner

Richard E. "Doc" Whitted (1944-1987) was the first African American to be elected to the Orange County Board of County Commissioners. Born and raised in Orange County, Whitted graduated from North Carolina Central University with degrees in accounting and economics, and pursued a career that led him to be Assistant to the Vice President for student affairs at Duke University. As a commissioner, he served from 1972 to 1984, and was chair from 1976 to 1980 and 1982 to 1983. The Richard E. Whitted Human Services Building on Tryon Street is named in his honor, and houses the BOCC meeting room, county offices as well as the Health Department and Housing Department.

Black History and Futures Jeopardy!

During the month of February, visit the Orange County Main Library in Hillsborough on the second floor to test your knowledge against an interactive Black History-themed Jeopardy! game. You can pick up a scorecard and work your way through five categories with 25 prompts before making your wager in Final Jeopardy!  For more information, visit orangecountync.librarycalendar.com/events/black-histories-futures-jeopardy, or call 919-245-2525.

Orange County Ag Summit

The 24th annual Orange County Ag Summit will be held Feb. 15-17 in a combined in-person and virtual format. Orange County Cooperative Extension has put together another great event with speakers and sessions on a variety of topics important to today's farming community. You can read more about the event and register on the Orange County Cooperative Extension website. A limited number of in-person seats are available for each day, but must be requested in advance. Attendees must adhere to COVID protocols for facemasks and social distancing for the in-person events.