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Fred Davis to be Honored with Authur S. Holmon Lifetime Achievement Award

January 25, 2018 - Fred L. Davis will be honored with the Authur S. Holmon Lifetime Achievement Award at the Black History Month Opening Reception Thursday, Feb. 1, at 7 p.m. in the Rose Theatre.

Davis is being recognized for his work as a civil rights activist, entrepreneur and servant leader. He opened Fred L. Davis Insurance in 1967, one of the first African-American-owned insurance agencies in the South. Davis pursued his master's degree at the UofM, but before graduating he was elected to the Memphis City Council. He was chair of the Public Works Committee during the sanitation workers strike of 1968, and was on the platform with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. when he made his final speech in Memphis that year. Davis walked beside King on the last march made in support of striking workers before King's assassination. In 1972 he became the first African-American to chair the City Council. Among his many awards, Davis has received the Humanitarian Award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews.

The event is sponsored by the University of Memphis Black Student Association.

CONTACT

Chuck Gallina | 901.678.1756 l cgallina@memphis.edu