Join us to hear from Reverend Emeritus France Davis on February 20th at 5 pm in 238 HRCB!
Reverend France A. Davis was born on December 5, 1946, in Gough, Georgia. After graduating from a segregated high school in 1964, he served in the U.S. Air Force as an aircraft mechanic. He later earned degrees in rhetoric, religion, and mass communications from various institutions, including the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Utah.
Davis became a pastor and civil rights activist, marching from Selma to Montgomery and meeting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In 1972, he moved to Salt Lake City for a teaching fellowship at the University of Utah and joined Calvary Baptist Church, where he served as pastor. As a political activist, he helped establish Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a holiday in Utah, facing threats for his efforts.
He has held leadership roles in religious and academic communities and authored works on Black Baptist history in Utah. Davis lives in Salt Lake City with his wife, Willene, and their family.