ROCK HILL, S.C. — A portion of Crawford Road in Rock Hill has been named to honor the memory and legacy of David Boone, one of the most influential civil rights figures in the city’s history.
Boone, known as “Brother David,” died in 2017 after a long battle with cancer. He was 84.
He was a Catholic brother, and he spent six-plus decades fighting for racial equality and desegregation. In the late 1950s, Boone left Kentucky at the age of 18 and came to Rock Hill to join The Oratory, a Catholic society that oversees area parishes.
And now, the memory of Boone and his contributions to Rock Hill will forever be a part of the city.
The South Carolina Department of Transportation designated part of Crawford Road from the intersection with Hampton Road to the intersection with Heckle Boulevard “Brother David Boone Memorial Road.” The road is near St. Mary Catholic Church, where Boone served for decades as a volunteer and leader.
Recently, signs depicting the road’s new name were erected. South Carolina Rep. John King, who represents Rock Hill, introduced the legislation that made Boone’s memorial road possible.
“I feel like by having that sign up, some kid is going to ask their parent, ‘Well, who is David Boone?’” King said. “And if their parent doesn’t know, they’ll go home and research. They’ll find out his rich history and the role he played in the civil rights movement as a white man. It is breathtaking.”
Boone organized several civil rights marches and sit-ins in the early 1960s. He participated in the 1961 sit-in at McCrory’s lunch counter where the Friendship Nine were arrested for protesting segregation. Boone also worked to desegregate several of Rock Hill’s recreation leagues.
He remained, until the end of his life, on the leadership board of the Rock Hill NAACP.
King, who is the only Black member of the York County legislative delegation, said he attributes much of the area’s forward and progressive thinking to Boone and those he fought alongside.
“David Boone sat at the counter to fight for Blacks to have equal rights not only in York County, not only in the state of South Carolina, but our country,” King said. “And so, we realize some of those things now because of people like him. And as a state representative, I felt one of the honors that I could do while I’m in office was to honor someone of his stature.”
Boone also spent much of his life working with the poor. He co-founded the city’s Dorothy Day Soup Kitchen. And at one point, he operated a credit union for Black people who had no access to credit.
“Brother David was such a unique individual,” said former Rock Hill Mayor Doug Echols, who was in office when Boone passed. “I don’t know that I’ve ever had the privilege of meeting someone as humble as he was. He never really wanted to draw attention to himself in any way. He just wanted to be of service to other people. That’s a worthy designation for that road.”
And while he often shied away from the recognition, Boone has been honored with several designations throughout Rock Hill.
“Quite frankly, I think he would be embarrassed by it all,” Echols laughed. “But then again, that’s done to perpetuate the kind of spirit that he had and that he exemplified throughout his life.”
A building at Carolina Community Actions on Oakland Avenue was named after him. Boone’s name was printed on one of the stools at the lunch counter where the Friendship Nine protested. Shortly before his death, he was recognized at Rock Hill’s civil rights walkway.
And the memorial road is one more way to keep Boone’s memory alive, Echols said.
“If people will think about Brother David when they see his name on the road and his name on a building, or other places, that’s the way you let the work the did some time ago and throughout his life live on,” he said.