• Metro
    • Breaking News
    • Local
    • State
    • Nation
    • World
    • Religion
  • Campus
    • Campus News
    • Campus Events Coverage
    • Devotionals and forums
  • Sports
    • Men’s Sports
      • Basketball
      • Cheer
      • Cross Country
      • Football
      • Golf
      • Swim and Dive
      • Tennis
      • Track and Field
      • Volleyball
    • Women’s Sports
      • Basketball
      • Cheer
      • Cougarettes
      • Cross Country
      • Golf
      • Gymnastics
      • Soccer
      • Softball
      • Swim and Dive
      • Tennis
      • Track and Field
      • Volleyball
    • Extramural Sports
      • Lacrosse
      • Racquetball
      • Rugby
      • Men’s Soccer
    • Video
  • Life
    • Art
    • Ask the experts
    • Books
    • Brand Planet
    • #BYUhacks
    • Events
    • Food
    • Healthy Living
    • Mix Tape
    • Movies & Television
    • Museums & Exhibitions
    • Music
    • Photo Galleries
    • Simple Bites
    • Technology
    • Theater
    • Video of the Day
  • Opinion
    • Opinion Outpost
    • Readers’ Forum
    • Tweet Beat
    • Editorials
  • Police Beat
  • Magazine
    • Poor Wayfaring Man
    • February 2023
    • January 2023
    • December 2022
    • November 2022
    • October 2022
    • September 2022
    • March 2022
    • February 2022
    • January 2022
    • December 2021
    • November 2021
    • October 2021
    • September 2021
  • Special Projects
    • Education Week
    • COVID-19
    • Cougar Connection
    • The Next Normal
    • The World Meets Our Campus
    • Defining Moments of BYU Sports
    • Called to Serve In A Pandemic
    • If Any of You Lack Wisdom
    • Podcasts
    • Capital West News
    • A Week in Photos
    • Cougar Questions
    • Foreign Language
      • Portuguese
      • Spanish
    • Parliament of the World’s Religions
    • Ygram
    • Uros Island Project
  • Narratives
Search
The Daily Universe The Daily Universe
The Daily Universe
  • Metro
    • Breaking News
    • Local
    • State
    • Nation
    • World
    • Religion
  • Campus
    • Campus News
    • Campus Events Coverage
    • Devotionals and forums
  • Sports
    • Men’s Sports
      • Basketball
      • Cheer
      • Cross Country
      • Football
      • Golf
      • Swim and Dive
      • Tennis
      • Track and Field
      • Volleyball
    • Women’s Sports
      • Basketball
      • Cheer
      • Cougarettes
      • Cross Country
      • Golf
      • Gymnastics
      • Soccer
      • Softball
      • Swim and Dive
      • Tennis
      • Track and Field
      • Volleyball
    • Extramural Sports
      • Lacrosse
      • Racquetball
      • Rugby
      • Men’s Soccer
    • Video
  • Life
    • Art
    • Ask the experts
    • Books
    • Brand Planet
    • #BYUhacks
    • Events
    • Food
    • Healthy Living
    • Mix Tape
    • Movies & Television
    • Museums & Exhibitions
    • Music
    • Photo Galleries
    • Simple Bites
    • Technology
    • Theater
    • Video of the Day
  • Opinion
    • Opinion Outpost
    • Readers’ Forum
    • Tweet Beat
    • Editorials
  • Police Beat
  • Magazine
    • Poor Wayfaring Man
    • February 2023
    • January 2023
    • December 2022
    • November 2022
    • October 2022
    • September 2022
    • March 2022
    • February 2022
    • January 2022
    • December 2021
    • November 2021
    • October 2021
    • September 2021
  • Special Projects
    • Education Week
    • COVID-19
    • Cougar Connection
    • The Next Normal
    • The World Meets Our Campus
    • Defining Moments of BYU Sports
    • Called to Serve In A Pandemic
    • If Any of You Lack Wisdom
    • Podcasts
    • Capital West News
    • A Week in Photos
    • Cougar Questions
    • Foreign Language
      • Portuguese
      • Spanish
    • Parliament of the World’s Religions
    • Ygram
    • Uros Island Project
  • Narratives
  • Campus
  • Campus events
  • Campus News
  • Interfaith
  • Local
  • News
  • Religion

Civil rights activist and Baptist minister speaks at BYU

By
Whitney Hales
-
January 20, 2016
337
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
WhatsApp

    He was in Washington, D.C. when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said he had a dream. He marched from Selma to Montgomery to demonstrate for African-Americans’ voting rights. He’s a respected religious leader. And he’s speaking at BYU on Thursday, Jan. 21.

    France Davis
    Rev. France Davis, civil rights activist and minister of the Calvary Baptist Church, is speaking at BYU on Thursday, Jan. 21. BYU’s Office of Civic Engagement is hosting his lecture. (France Davis)

    The Rev. France Davis is visiting BYU this week to speak about civic involvement and service.

    Davis grew up in Georgia, but has been a minister at the Calvary Baptist Church in Salt Lake City for more than 40 years. He’s an advocate for civic issues and was once described by former U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson as a “voice of reason and sound judgment to transcend social divisions.”

    The reverend’s lecture at BYU comes three days after Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a national holiday honoring a man that Davis knew personally. Davis was a teenager when he listened to King’s famous speech at the March on Washington and when he followed King on the historic march through Alabama.

    BYU’s Office of Civic Engagement invited Davis to address students because of his experience in the civil rights movement and activism in the community.

    “Pastor Davis brings perspective,” said Dr. Richard Davis, director of the Office of Civic Engagement. “For the last 40 years, he’s been a force in trying to improve Salt Lake. He’s a model of someone who has been very much engaged in trying to make his community better, not just his church.”

    It’s important for BYU students to know that their civic engagement isn’t limited to their callings in their wards, Dr. Davis said. The reverend is an example of someone who serves both in his church and in the community.

    Rev. Davis taught communication and ethnic studies courses at the University of Utah. His church feeds the homeless in Salt Lake’s Pioneer Park every Sunday morning. He is also the current vice chair of the Utah Board of Regents and has participated on many other committees throughout the years.

    “Our responsibility is as citizens in the broader society,” Dr. Davis said. “And that’s a reminder Pastor Davis brings. That can help students understand that our obligation doesn’t stop at the church door. We also have an obligation to be a positive influence in the larger communities where we live.”

    Dr. Davis said the reverend’s example teaches that involvement influences communities for good.

    “Students can make a difference too,” Dr. Davis said. “They too can be involved in the community. They too can be willing to give their time to others beyond the church callings they have. So I hope they get that message.”

    The Office of Civic Engagement helps students and faculty improve their community involvement. The office hosts lectures and workshops to educate the BYU community, and the office also offers a minor to students.

    Rev. Davis will speak in the Varsity Theater on Thursday, Jan. 21, at 11 a.m.

    Print Friendly, PDF & Email
    • TAGS
    • Baptist
    • BYU
    • Calvary Baptist Church
    • civil rights
    • france davis
    • Martin Luther King Jr
    • Martin Luther King Jr. Day
    • office of civic engagement
    • reverend davis
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Pinterest
    WhatsApp
      Previous articleBen Cahoon named BYU wide receivers coach
      Next articleExecutive orders on gun control tighten on private sellers
      Whitney Hales
      Whitney Hales is a journalism major and campus editor for The Universe. She is pursuing a career in travel writing.

      RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

      Miss Provo invites all to ‘GLO with Kindness’

      New BYU study shows pornography of any kind is harmful to romantic relationships

      BYU Office of Belonging opens new space in Wilkinson Student Center

      The Daily Universe
      ABOUT US
      The Daily Universe is an educational lab tied to the curriculum of the journalism sequence in the BYU School of Communications and is committed to the mission of BYU and its sponsoring institution, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
      Universe Staff Login
      Archived Publications
      Universe Staff Login Bypass
      Contact us:
      FOLLOW US