Butterfield graduated from Charles H. Darden High School in Wilson, NC. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in political science and sociology from North Carolina Central University (NCCU), a historically black university. During his time at NCCU, Congressman Butterfield was active in Voter Registration activism, including coordinating voter registration drives in Durham and organizing a student march from the State Capital in Raleigh to the Wilson County Courthouse to draw attention to the importance of voter registration. Following completion of his bachelor's degree, Butterfield attended he NCCU School of Law where he received a Juris Doctor degree in 1974.