Collection Title: Davis (Charles) Papers Collection Number: M377 Dates: 1862-2004 Volume: 3.6 cu. ft. Provenance: Materials in the collection were generated and/or collected by Charles Davis Donor: Donated by Charles Davis between 1999-2004 Copyright: This collection may be protected from unauthorized copying by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code).

BIOGRAPHICAL/HISTORICAL SKETCH:

Charles L. Davis, born on September 23, 1943, was reared in Hattiesburg, in Forrest County, Mississippi. In 1958, when he was in the 9th grade at Rowan High School, Medgar Evers, then Mississippi field secretary for the Mississippi National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), asked Davis (and Joyce Ladner, a sister of Dorie Ladner) to establish and share the leadership of the soon to be organized Forrest County NAACP Youth Group.

By 1962, Davis graduated from high school and enrolled at Dillard University in New Orleans. However, in 1963, he decided to join the Air Force. In 1964, when African Americans in Hattiesburg, were being refused the right to vote, he took a 30-day leave of absence from the Air Force. While in Hattiesburg, he went to register to vote, wearing his Air Force uniform. Under the direction of the Mississippi Council of Federated Organizations (COFO), the Student nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and the NAACP, Davis also joined with other civil rights activist to test the 1964 Civil Rights Act. To this end, the group tried to gain entrance to various Hattiesburg hotels, motels, restaurants and public libraries but was refused entrance.

Upon the expiration of his 30-day leave of absence, he returned to the Air Force, where he was stationed in Spain. Upon his discharge from the Air Force in 1968, he returned to Hattiesburg, went to work for The University of Southern Mississippi as a janitor, but also worked for the NAACP, where he served in 1968 as the Forrest County NAACP Political Action Committee Chairman.
In 1976, he graduated from William Carey College with a B. S. in History, and also worked to unify the Freedom Democratic Party and the Mississippi Democratic Party. In 1977, he took a job as the “Community Service Talk Show” host for WORV and WJMG radio, and in 1979, he accepted a position as an insurance salesman.

In 1985, as a member of the Forrest County NAACP Political Action Committee, he was active in the movement to reorganize Hattiesburg’s city government to the mayor/council plan, which elected city officials from within geographical districts. Similarly, in 1986, he worked to require district rather than at-large elections for the Forrest County Board of Supervisors, Justices of Peace, and Constables. From 1984 to 1988, he served on the Mississippi Democratic Platform Committee.

In 1992, he worked, in conjunction with the NAACP, on the reapportionment of the Southeast Mississippi legislative districts to increase African American representation. From 1993-1994, he began the work, which resulted in the replacement of grave makers for African American soldiers of the Confederacy at Mississippi’s Vicksburg National Military Park. In 1994-1995, he also succeeded in getting a wayside exhibit honoring Civil War African American soldiers set up on Ship Island, an island located in the Gulf of Mexico about 11 miles south of Biloxi, Mississippi. In 1997, when an Ellisville State School affiliated group home for the deaf, blind, and mentally retarded caught fire, Davis, an employee of the group home, saved the lives of the residents by leading them to safety. In 2003, in his capacity as the Chair of the Forrest County NAACP Political Action Committee, a position he has held since 1996, he organized a Non-Partisan Candidate Forum to discuss political issues.

In addition, Davis has also petitioned for the removal of the Mississippi state flag, opposed nuclear waste storage in the Richton and Cypress Creek Salt domes, worked for more funding for Medicaid and Welfare, run for political office, and campaigned for Democratic presidential candidates. Currently, Davis can be heard on Tuesday mornings on Soul 105.3 FM. A cursory look at Davis’ life reveals he has spent his life in the promotion of social justice.

Sources:

Contents of the Collection.
Davis, Charles. Interview. July 8, 2004

Other Finding Aids:

Box and Folder List
Photograph Log

Related Collections:

M345 Adams (Victoria Gray) Papers
AM2000-63 Ladner (Dorie Ann) Collection
M334 Wade (Daisy Harris) Papers

Scope and Content:

The inclusive dates of the collection are 1862-2004, but the bulk of the collection consists of NAACP materials from the early 1970s to 2001. Of special interest in the collection are the NAACP materials, and the social justice activities of Charles Davis, which span the years from 1958 to the present. Also of interest is a copy of a U.S. Air Force report (The Palomares Report) regarding the mid-air collision of a B-52 and a KC-135 during refueling operations over Spain on January 17, 1966. The B-52 was carrying nuclear bombs, and Charles Davis was involved in the recovery and cleanup operation following the accident. This collection should be interest to researchers of Civil Rights activities, community activism, or Mississippi politics.

Box and Folder List

Accession Number: AM05-12

Dates: ca. 1955-1965; 1984

Provenance: Mr. Charles Davis

Volume: 2 items

Copyright: This collection may be protected from unauthorized copying by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code).

Form of Material:

1. One 8 x 10 black and white photograph taken in the New York City apartment of Charles Davis' aunt, Mrs. Bessie Dudley, circa 1955-1965. The apartment was in Northern Harlem. Pictured in the photograph are Bessie Dudley and her husband Charlie Dudley, Gloria Boyd, Mr. and Mrs. Hammond Smith, and an unidentified female friend (possibly an artist). Gloria Boyd was also Mr. Davis' aunt. Mr. Hammond Smith owned Smith's Drug Store in Hattiesburg, and was one of the city's most prominent African American businessmen. The photographed became damaged over time, and Bessie Dudley's face has been almost obliterated.

2. One copy of the funeral program for Mrs. Gloria Ruth Lamar Boyd, September 16, 1984. The program contains the order of service and Mrs. Boyd's obituary.

Accession Number: AM05-14

Dates: ca. 1940 - 2002

Provenance: Mr. Charles Davis

Volume: .45 cu. ft.

Copyright: This collection may be protected from unauthorized copying by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code).

Form of Material:

An assortment of materials relating to the life and activities of Mr. Charles Davis, including a photograph album in which Mr. Davis and various members of his family are pictured. A container list follows.

AM05-14
Davis (Charles) Papers
Container List

1. Campaign Materials: Davis vs. Holloway (1993)
2. City of Hattiesburg: Ordinance Changing Form of Government from Commission to Mayor-Council (1984)
3. Democratic Party of Mississippi (1984 - 2002)
4. Election Materials (1992)
5. Farish Street Historical District: Jackson, Mississippi (1940; 1994)
6. Fifth Congressional District: Democratic Party Executive Committee (1988)
7. Hattiesburg Redistricting Plans (2002; undated)
8. Mississippi Minority Business Directory (1987)
9. Monuments for Black Soldiers in Vicksburg National Military Park (1988 - 1994)
10. Newspaper: Banner News (May 6, 1993)
11. Newspaper: Hub City News (Jan. 23 & Sept. 11, 1986)
12. Public Defender System of Mississippi (1994 - 1995)
13. Public Hearing on Land Use Code: Hattiesburg, Mississippi (1987)
14. Rally Against "Contract with America" (1995)
15. St. Paul United Methodist Church Historical Committee (ca. 1994 - 2001)
16. Universal Life Insurance Company: Silver Anniversary Souvenir Booklet (1948)
17. Miscellaneous Items (ca. 1991 - 1999)
18. Photograph Album

Accession Number: AM06-53

Dates: circa 1926 - 2006

Provenance: Given by Charles Davis

Volume: .45 cu. ft.

Copyright: This collection may be protected from unauthorized copying by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code).

Form of Material:

Photographs, newspapers, family materials, community action documents, and other items pertaining to the background and activities of Mr. Charles Davis. A container list is attached hereto.

AM06-53
Davis (Charles) Papers
Container List

City of Hattiesburg: Community Development (1974-1991)
Congressional Redistricting (2000)
Delta State University: Workshop Application (Nov. 2000)
Democratic Party (2000; 2004; undated)
Eastern Star (1949; 1983)
Family Papers (1926-1984)
Forrest County Voters Rights Suit: Names on Court Order (undated)
Freedom Summer Poster, “Courage to Act” (2004)
Green Thumb Original Home and Garden Club Year Book (1989-1990)
Jackson State University: Fannie Lou Hamer Lecture Series (Oct. 1, 1997)
Larry L. Davis (1948; undated)
Margaret Walker Alexander Research Center (1993-1994)
Mary Louise Boyd Davis Revere (1942-1991)
Medicaid (1989; undated)
Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus (1995)
Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus, Book III (Aug. 29, 1998)
Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus (2001)
NAACP (1978; 1991; undated)
New Day Coalition (2002)
Newsletter: The Informer (July 1990)
Newspaper: Banner News (Oct. 16, 1992)
Newspaper: Hub City Community News (Jan. 2 & Feb. 27, 1986)
Newspaper: South Mississippi Weekly (Sept. 16, 1982)
Photographs (2 folders)
Ramon A. Revere (1948)
Report: “Hurricane Katrina and Mississippi – One Year Later (2006)
Request for Handicap Ramp at Downtown Hattiesburg Post Office (Apr. 2002)
Resolution of Hattiesburg City Council Opposing Reduction of State Legislature (1990s)
Rev. James D. Randolph, Sr. (1982; undated)
761st TK. BN. and Allied Veterans Association 52nd Reunion (Aug 28 – Sept. 3, 2000)
South Central Bell Rate Increases (1994)
Miscellaneous items (1990-2004)

Created by: William Bahr
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Revised: November 6, 2006