Belva Davis, a pioneering Bay Area journalist, dies at 92
Belva Davis the trailblazing journalist who broke the color barrier and graced Bay Area airwaves and television sets for more than five decades died Wednesday at the age of Related Articles KION shuts down news department after years FBI arrests man accused of shooting at Northern California ABC news station Trump s moves against the media mirror approaches by authoritarian leaders to silence dissent What s up with boys A discussion with Jim Steyer of Common Sense Media What to know about Brendan Carr the head of the Federal Communications Commission After initially starting her career in print Davis transitioned into radio and broadcast journalism in the Bay Area in the mid- s becoming the first Black female TV reporter on the West Coast when KPIX-TV hired her in However for those who knew her best her impact extended beyond the journalism world While a large number of news outlets will statement on her being a pioneer in journalism and a civil rights advocate as well as her groundbreaking career in television broadcasting to us she was just mom and Nana the Davis family mentioned in a comment Mom had an uncanny knack for asking questions that allowed different points of view to drive civil discourse We will miss the spirited dinner conversations She taught us all about standing up for social equity and that silence was complicity Born in northern Louisiana Davis moved to Oakland as a child and graduated from Berkeley High School Although Davis was accepted into San Francisco State University she could not afford to go to college at the time The initial seeds of her career began in the late s when she started freelancing for Jet Magazine and later wrote for the Sun Reporter and Bay Area Independent Davis was later hired at Bay Area radio stations KSAN and KDIA which allowed her to attend the Republican National Convention at the Cow Palace in Daly City an event which emboldened her desires to become a reporter In her memoir Never in My Wildest Dreams A Black Woman s Life in Journalism Davis recounted the horrendous racial abuse she and her colleagues endured as a mob harassed them Along with working at KPIX-TV where she rose to anchor Davis appeared on KRON-TV and joined KQED in where she would later host This Week in Northern California and remain until her retirement in Among the biggest stories she covered were the Jonestown mass deaths the assassinations of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk and the AIDS emergency Davis accolades include winning eight regional Emmy Awards and lifetime achievement recognition from both the National Association of Black Journalists and American Women in Radio and Television Her voice was one of clarity courage and conviction SAG-AFTRA Northern California president Robert Chestnut disclosed in a announcement As the first Black woman to anchor television news in the Western United States Belva Davis redefined what was manageable not just for journalists of color but for all who believe in the transformative power of masses media Her decades of system at KPIX KRON KQED and across the broadcasting landscape helped shape the civic and cultural fabric of Northern California Along with journalistic talents Davis was known for her saying Don t be afraid of the space between your dreams and reality if you can dream it you can make it so and for influencing so numerous people s lives that she entered More than her groundbreaking journalism Belva Davis was a mentor a hero and an inspiration to generations of women of color in journalism Society of Professional Journalists Northern California board member Meaghan Mitchell disclosed in a report She opened doors lifted others up and demonstrated that integrity perseverance and excellence could overcome even the steepest obstacles In a CBS Sunday Morning segment two years ago correspondent Bill Whitaker noted Knowing Belva Davis changed my life Davis death has also resulted in an outpouring of tributes from her colleagues A mentor in person during our days together at KPIX and by example for the rest of her life she shaped my career and countless others former KPIX reporter and anchor Ron Magers wrote in an online post My appreciation gratitude and love have no bounds Davis is survived by her husband Bill Moore two children Darolyn and Steven and her granddaughters Dava and Sterling Belva was special in more techniques than we can express as a wife a mom a grandmother a mentor a friend and confidant the Davis family revealed We will miss her dearly and know that you will too
