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Aiden Clarke, Ari Glasser, and Avery Vilela
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Gordon J. Davis ’63 died on Oct. 4 at the age of 85 from complications of emphysema. Davis was a lawyer and civic leader whose father and uncle, W. Allison Davis, Class of 1924, and John A. Davis, Class of 1933, were the namesakes of the Davis Center.
From 1978 to 1983, Davis was the first Black commissioner of New York City’s Department of Parks and Recreation and is credited with making major improvements to Central Park during his tenure, including the restoration of the 15-acre Sheep Meadow lawn. A graduate of Harvard Law School, he went on to serve as a special assistant and speechwriter for New York City Mayor John V. Lindsay and later became one of the first Black partners at a major New York law firm, according to an obituary published in the New York Times.
During his time at the College, Davis played an important role in student civil rights activism. In his first year, Davis and about 20 other students traveled to Washington, D.C., to picket the White House in support of the sit-ins taking place in the South. Later, Davis co-founded the Williams Civil Rights Committee with Roger Warren ’63 during their sophomore year, which raised money for civil rights organizations, including the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.
Davis leaves a formidable legacy at the College, including the Gordon J. Davis ’63 Social and Racial Justice Fellowship. This fellowship, facilitated by the Davis Center, allows a small cohort of students to conduct projects over the summer that work towards social and racial justice initiatives.
Alia Sherman El-Rahbani, the College’s senior associate director for inclusive learning environments, said the fellowship, which began in summer 2023, is an impactful part of Davis’ legacy. “The reach of each summer’s cohort into different areas of society, as well as the diverse and growing number of alumni who have been supported by this fellowship program and are now stepping into professional lives in these fields, shows the power of a vision like Davis’s,” she wrote in an email to the Record.
For Vanessa Muturi ’27, who received the fellowship this past summer, the financial support made it possible for her to intern with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Hawaii. “I otherwise wouldn’t be able to work there without this fellowship, because [the ACLU doesn’t] usually hire college interns,” she said. “This helped me understand that I want to do something more community-centered, something where I can really help people.”
Davis’ family members faced discrimination during their time at the College. His uncle W. Allison Davis was denied a junior faculty position in the English department because of his race. In 1947, he became the first tenured African American professor at a predominantly white university, teaching at the University of Chicago. Despite his negative experience as an undergraduate, he accepted an honorary degree from the College in 1974. His brother, John Davis, pursued a political science degree and was later the lead researcher in the landmark 1954 Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education.
El-Rahbani emphasized Gordon Davis’ legacy. “[His] work at Williams and beyond has made an enormous positive difference in the lives of many people, especially those who have been minoritized in education, the legal profession, and the performing arts.”
From 1978 to 1983, Davis was the first Black commissioner of New York City’s Department of Parks and Recreation and is credited with making major improvements to Central Park during his tenure, including the restoration of the 15-acre Sheep Meadow lawn. A graduate of Harvard Law School, he went on to serve as a special assistant and speechwriter for New York City Mayor John V. Lindsay and later became one of the first Black partners at a major New York law firm, according to an obituary published in the New York Times.
During his time at the College, Davis played an important role in student civil rights activism. In his first year, Davis and about 20 other students traveled to Washington, D.C., to picket the White House in support of the sit-ins taking place in the South. Later, Davis co-founded the Williams Civil Rights Committee with Roger Warren ’63 during their sophomore year, which raised money for civil rights organizations, including the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.
Davis leaves a formidable legacy at the College, including the Gordon J. Davis ’63 Social and Racial Justice Fellowship. This fellowship, facilitated by the Davis Center, allows a small cohort of students to conduct projects over the summer that work towards social and racial justice initiatives.
Alia Sherman El-Rahbani, the College’s senior associate director for inclusive learning environments, said the fellowship, which began in summer 2023, is an impactful part of Davis’ legacy. “The reach of each summer’s cohort into different areas of society, as well as the diverse and growing number of alumni who have been supported by this fellowship program and are now stepping into professional lives in these fields, shows the power of a vision like Davis’s,” she wrote in an email to the Record.
For Vanessa Muturi ’27, who received the fellowship this past summer, the financial support made it possible for her to intern with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Hawaii. “I otherwise wouldn’t be able to work there without this fellowship, because [the ACLU doesn’t] usually hire college interns,” she said. “This helped me understand that I want to do something more community-centered, something where I can really help people.”
Davis’ family members faced discrimination during their time at the College. His uncle W. Allison Davis was denied a junior faculty position in the English department because of his race. In 1947, he became the first tenured African American professor at a predominantly white university, teaching at the University of Chicago. Despite his negative experience as an undergraduate, he accepted an honorary degree from the College in 1974. His brother, John Davis, pursued a political science degree and was later the lead researcher in the landmark 1954 Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education.
El-Rahbani emphasized Gordon Davis’ legacy. “[His] work at Williams and beyond has made an enormous positive difference in the lives of many people, especially those who have been minoritized in education, the legal profession, and the performing arts.”