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By Mike Barnhardt
Enterprise Record

Julius Suiter was onced called “a billboard for our community.”
A long-time educator and community activist, his name will live on as Davie County Schools renamed the Central Davie Education Center the Julius Suiter Education Center.
The ceremony last month at the campus off Martin Luther King Jr. Road in Mocksville included school board members, family members of Mr. Suiter, who along with wife Selma, taught thousands of Davie students, and members of the community. Mr. Suiter died in 2022.
“We thank you as a community for helping to make this happen,” said his son. Brian Suiter. The Central Davie campus, he said, was his “second home” for part of his youth. Both parents started working at the then all Black school in the 1960s.
Their daughter, Brooke Rothwell, also thanked the board of education and others, and said the influence of her parents inspired her to become a first-grade teacher. “I’m so proud of the opportunities I’ve had to follow in their footsteps. We’re here to pave the way as you have done for so many others.”
After integration, the teachers moved to Davie High.
Mr. Suiter had been a school teacher and coach, assistant principal and principal – at all grade levels in Davie County.
Growing up in Norfolk, Va., he ended up in Davie County to pursue his teaching career.
“He was a billboard for our community,” said Terry Bralley, president of the Davie Economic Development Commission. Mr. Suiter was on that board when Bralley joined in 1979.
“He was always selling the great things we had going on. A communicator with his booming baritone voice, he spoke with confidence and authority,” Bralley said. “He bridged many misunderstandings in the community and was a positive force that could pick you up in uncertain times.”
Bralley remembers one time when, as a young town manager, he had a meeting with residents along Campbell Road at a church. He was there to talk about improving water and sewer service to the neighborhood, but the residents were more interested in talking about past years of neglect. That was until Julius Suiter stood up and said: “This man says he’s coming here to help you, the least we can do is listen to what he has to say.”
He never had another problem that evening.
“Like many great leaders, he was trusted and could see beyond tomorrow and steadily and quietly got things done without the drama and emotion that sometimes cloud our sound judgment,” Bralley said. “Julius was always willing to listen and had a gift for uniting people.”
“Our father wanted the best for his family and he made sure he could provide what we needed to be successful,” said Brian. “One thing Dad said often was, ‘Make sure you help someone when you can.’ Well, I believe Davie County could see he made sure to live by that motto.”
“Dad also wanted people to know that their families were important and to make sure they knew it. Dad very seldom said no to helping someone, he always believed people would do right by you if you let them know you believed in them. From his coaching days, to teaching history and driver’s education and being everyone’s principal … he gave kids hope, a belief in themselves and a lot of laughs along the way.
“He was hardworking, giving, quick-witted and had a way to get along with others. My mother would often say, ‘Everybody likes Suiter.’ He wanted the best for his family and the community his family lived in.
“He wanted the best for Davie County and made sure the county kept improving year after year. From the educational system to our businesses, the homes and everything in between, Julius Suiter believed in Davie County and gave his all.”
Those words said at his passing live one, and will be remembered more now that his name adorns the building that now houses the school system’s technology department. His daughter, Brooke, got the ball started to get a site named after her father.
Central Davie was established as a Rosenthal School in the 1920s, thanks to the efforts of local resident Hodge Gaither and others, Jeff Wallace, superintendent of Davie County Schools, said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. At the time, there were limited opportunities for African-American students to be educated, especially inside of Davie County.
He read a headline to a 1980 article in the Enterprise Record: “Mr. Julius Suiter will be the new principal at Mocksville Middle School.” That was one of several uses for the site after integration.
Born March 9, 1942 in Norfolk, Va., Mr. Suiter was ducated in public schools in Norfolk, graduated from Livingstone College with a bachelor’s degree in history and earned a master’s degree in education administration from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
He was a member of St. John AME Zion Church, and several other community organizations.