John Aubrey Davis Sr. facts for kids

John Aubrey Davis Sr. was an important African-American professor and activist. He lived from 1912 to 2002. He played a big part in the Civil Rights Movement. He was the main researcher for a very important court case called Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. This case made it illegal to separate students by race in public schools and universities. Davis taught at Howard University, Lincoln University, and became the head of the political science department at City University in New York.

Early Life and Education

John Aubrey Davis Sr. was born in Washington, D.C. in 1912. His parents were John Abraham Davis and Gabrielle Dorothy Davis. He grew up on a farm in Virginia with his two older siblings, Allison and Dorothy. They all went to and graduated from Dunbar High School (Washington, D.C.). This was a top school for black students at the time.

Like his older brother Allison, John Davis went to Williams College. He graduated in 1933. He then continued his studies. He earned a master's degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin in 1934. Later, he earned a doctorate degree in political science from Columbia University in 1949.

Davis married Mavis Wormley. They had two sons together, John A. Davis Jr. and Smith W. Davis.

Teaching Career

Davis started teaching at Howard University in the mid-1930s. He returned there after getting his doctorate degree. Later, he became a full professor of political science at Lincoln University (Pennsylvania). This was a college mainly for black students.

In 1953, Davis became an associate professor at City College of New York. He was later promoted to a full professor. He then became the chairman of the political science department at City University.

Working for Civil Rights

Davis became active in civil rights in 1933. He helped start a group called the New Negro Alliance. This group challenged businesses in black neighborhoods in Washington, D.C. These businesses were firing black workers and hiring white workers instead, even though most of their customers were black.

The Alliance started a campaign called "Don't Buy Where You Can't Work." They asked people to boycott and picket these businesses. Many businesses gave in because they didn't want to lose money during the Great Depression. Some businesses fought back in court.

The case went all the way to the Supreme Court. In 1938, the Supreme Court sided with The Alliance. Thurgood Marshall, who later became a Supreme Court Justice, represented The Alliance in this case. It was called New Negro Alliance vs. Sanitary Grocery Company Inc.. During this time, Davis and Marshall became close friends for life.

The Brown v. Board of Education Case

In 1953, Thurgood Marshall asked Davis to lead the research team for the very important Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka case. Davis worked with over 200 scholars. This team included famous historians like John Hope Franklin.

Davis and his team gathered facts and evidence. This evidence showed that separating people by race was unfair and against the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. This information was used by Marshall in his arguments against the idea of "separate but equal" schools. The Supreme Court's decision in this case made racial segregation in public schools illegal across the United States.

After this big project, in 1957, Governor W. Averell Harriman appointed Davis to the New York State Commission on Discrimination.

Later Years

After living in Washington, D.C. for many years, Davis lived in New Rochelle, New York. He taught at City University there. He retired from teaching in 1980. Later, he moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, where he passed away.