One of Birmingham’s most revered civil rights defenders made a special visit to this school + daycare

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J. Mason Davis—a highly esteemed Birmingham attorney and the first African American to serve as Chairman of the Board for United Way of Central Alabama (UWCA)—recently made an impactful visit to New Hope Christian Elementary School.

Read on to learn about Mr. Davis’s passion for education and his morning with these awesome students.

Education is a priority for J. Mason Davis

A Birmingham native, J. Mason Davis attended Talladega College and the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law.

After law school, he returned to Birmingham and began his own practice in 1959.

He became one of the city’s most respected attorneys and is also well known for being an exemplary citizen and defender of civil rights:

He has also been a leader in supporting multiple charities that help create opportunities for minorities, especially in the realm of education.

“Education is something that has been passed down in my family for generations and is exactly how I got to where I am. During slavery, our people were not allowed to read or write. That put Black people behind.

We’ve had to catch up, which I think we’ve done a great job at since 1865, but it’s so important to go into minority communities and teach them to read and write.”

J. Mason Davis

New Hope students were excited to learn from Mr. Davis

Mr. Davis’ passion for education goes hand-in-hand with the work done by UWCA’s Success by 6 initiative, which aims to prepare preschool-age children for academic success.

The program achieves this goal by providing resources to young children including:

• educational materials + curriculum
• free school supplies + thousands of books

Additionally, Success By 6 organizes reading events, like the recent one at New Hope.

As part of the event, each child received a copy of Colin Kaepernick’s book, I Color Myself Different, purchased with funds from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s Legacy of Leadership campaign honoring Mr. Davis.

As Mr. Davis read the book to New Hope’s preschool and elementary students, the children smiled and laughed as he added in a few of his own comments.

While he kept the morning fun and lighthearted, he made sure the students understood the importance of learning to read.

“Reading is the most important thing you can do. Don’t ever forget that. Even if it’s just a magazine in your house, read it over and over again.

Teaching young people to read is changing lives and changing the community.”

J. Mason Davis

After he read, the elementary school students were able to ask questions they had prepared for Mr. Davis. They were starstruck when he told them that YES, he had met Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

J. Mason Davis Leadership Society

In 2019, UWCA launched the J. Mason Davis Leadership Society in honor of Mr. Davis.

The society’s mission is to bring together African Americans who champion diversity and opportunity and want to positively impact the community through philanthropy, volunteerism and advocacy.

Mr. Davis agreed to being the namesake of the group under the condition that going out into communities that need more resources and teaching them to read was one of their top priorities.

Members of the group receive:

• Opportunities to network with some of the most service-oriented and influential people in our community.
• Chances to engage with the community by volunteering and helping clients at service events.
• Invitations to attend informative events to hear from experts about challenges facing our community.

Learn more about the J. Mason Davis Leadership Society at United Way of Central Alabama.

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