Abraham Lincoln Davis Jr. (1914 – June 24, 1978) was an American minister and leader in the civil rights movement. He led voting drives and advocated for desegregation in New Orleans, Louisiana. In 1975, Davis became the first African American member of the

New Orleans City Council The New Orleans City Council is the legislative branch of the City of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. The current mayor-council form of city government was created in 1954, following the 1950 amendment of the state constitution that provide ...

since the

Reconstruction era The Reconstruction era was a period in American history following the American Civil War (1861–1865) and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebuild the country after the bloo ...

Early life

Davis was from

Bayou Goula, Louisiana Bayou Goula is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Iberville Parish, Louisiana, United States. Its population was 612 as of the 2010 census. Bayou Goula is a name derived from the Choctaw language meaning "river peop ...

. His father was a Baptist minister. He moved to New Orleans and graduated from McDonogh 35 High School. He was ordained as the minister at the New Zion Baptist Church in New Orleans in 1935. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from

Leland College Leland College was founded in 1870 as a college for blacks in New Orleans, Louisiana, but was open to all races. With . The college facilities had become derelict by the time of listing. In the early 21st century, only the ruins of the two dormi ...

in 1949 and earned an honorary

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

from the

Union Baptist Theological Seminary Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''U ...

Civil rights movement

Davis became involved in the civil rights movement. In January 1957, he cofounded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) with Martin Luther King Jr. and others in his church. King served as the president of the SCLC, while Davis was vice president. The Louisiana Leadership Conference, a satellite organization of the SCLC, was formed in March 1957, with Davis and

T. J. Jemison Theodore Judson Jemison (August 1, 1918 – November 15, 2013), better known as T. J. Jemison, was the president of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. from 1982 to 1994. It is the largest African American, African-American religious organ ...

elected as its co-chairs. Associated with the SCLC, they conducted voting registration drives for African Americans. Davis became involved in progressive politics; he supported DeLesseps Story Morrison, the mayor of New Orleans, Governor

Robert F. Kennon Robert Floyd Kennon Sr. (August 21, 1902 – January 11, 1988), was an American politician and judge who served as the 48th governor of Louisiana, an associate justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court, a judge of the Louisiana Second Circuit Cou ...

, and

Congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

Hale Boggs. He opposed Earl Long, leading a faction of anti-Long Democrats. In 1961, Morrison named Davis the first director of race relations for the city. Governor John McKeithen appointed Davis to a committee on race relations. Morrison's successor,

Victor H. Schiro Victor Hugo Schiro (May 6, 1904 – August 29, 1992), was an American politician who served on the New Orleans City Council and as Mayor from 1961 to 1970. Early life and political career Schiro was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of An ...

, resisted desegregation, and Davis led a march of 7,000 to 10,000 on

city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

on September 30, 1963. Later that week, he presented a list of demands to the

. He and Reverend Avery Alexander were arrested at a

sit-in A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...

at city hall in November and he continued to organize a sit-in in city hall's cafeteria and outside the mayor's office, with people getting arrested daily. The campaign was halted after 47 were arrested, including members of the Congress of Racial Equality, before Davis and Alexander got to meet with Schiro. Ultimately, the group was able to win some progress on their demands, but not on all of them.

Political career

Davis ran for the

Louisiana House of Representatives The Louisiana House of Representatives (french: link=no, Chambre des Représentants de Louisiane) is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. This chamber is composed of 105 repr ...

in the 1967 elections. He lost the December

runoff election The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resul ...

against incumbent Eugene O'Brien, receiving 4,324 votes to O'Brien's 4,442 votes. In 1975, Davis and

Jim Singleton James Milton Singleton (born 1931 in Hazlehurst, Mississippi), a prime mover in the New Orleans political organization BOLD (Black Organization for Leadership Development) and previously served on the nine-member Louisiana Gaming Control Board, ha ...

were put forward as replacement candidates to represent District B on the New Orleans City Council, following the resignation of Eddie Sapir to serve as a city judge. Davis won the appointment by a 6–1 vote. He became the first African American to serve on the New Orleans City Council since the

. Davis won a special election for the remainder of Sapir's term in October 1976, but lost the 1977 election for a new term to Singleton.

Personal life

Davis had a daughter. He died on June 24, 1978.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Abraham Lincoln 1914 births 1978 deaths New Orleans City Council members Activists for African-American civil rights African-American Baptist ministers Baptist ministers from the United States African-American activists Louisiana Democrats People from Iberville Parish, Louisiana Activists from Louisiana