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- The late Griffith Davis

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was a renowned 
photographer, journalist,

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and US foreign service officer.

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Among his friends were giants 
of the civil rights movement,

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and with his lens, he 
captured many of their public

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and private moments.

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Griff passed away in 1993,

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but his legacy lives on 
through his daughter,

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St. Petersburg 
resident Dorothy Davis.

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(bouncy piano music)

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- My dad, Griff Davis, was 
born in Atlanta, Georgia

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during segregation, 
or Jim Crow era.

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He was born in 1923 and 
he passed away in 1993.

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He started photography 
in high school in Atlanta

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and that's where he 
met the professor

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or the teacher who taught 
him about photography

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and then he became, like, the 
student campus photographer,

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and that's kind 
of how he started.

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(bouncy piano music continues)

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(mellow music)

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He was a Buffalo Soldier 
in World War II in Italy

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with the 92nd Infantry 
of the US Army

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and he was the photographer 
for the infantry.

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He always said that's what 
spared his life, essentially,

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that he was the photographer.

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In any case, when he came back

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to finish his 
studies at Morehouse,

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he took a class with 
Langston Hughes,

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who was the visiting professor

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at what's now known as 
Clark Atlanta University,

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and they struck up a friendship.

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And then when my dad 
graduated, he needed a job.

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And Langston Hughes was 
working with "Ebony."

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He was doing stories 
for "Ebony" at the time.

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And one day, he was 
at a World's Fair

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where John Johnson, the owner 
and publisher of "Ebony,"

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was asking him, "Do you 
know anyone I can hire

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because I'm looking for a 
roving editor for 'Ebony'?"

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He said, "Oh, yeah, I got 
the right person for you,"

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and then my dad was hired

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and became the first 
roving editor for "Ebony."

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- "Ebony" magazine

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was a monthly periodical 
that was published

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about African American 
life and lifestyle.

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For so many African 
American families,

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it was a reference point for 
everything that was great

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about being in the 
Black community.

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- He covered all 
kinds of stories,

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like Nat King Cole's honeymoon.

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I think it was 1948.

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(mellow jazzy music)

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(soulful piano music)

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Probably the most famous photo,

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although nobody knows 
about it, (laughs)

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is the one of the first meeting

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between then-Vice 
President Richard Nixon

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and Martin Luther King Jr. 
and their respective wives,

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Coretta Scott King 
and Patricia Nixon,

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in Ghana during Independence 
Day celebrations

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in March 1957.

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That photograph was featured

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in "Tampa Bay 
Times" January 2020

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when I opened an exhibition

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at the Florida Museum 
of Photographic Arts,

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and it was the first time

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that it had been 
publicly published.

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The reason is that, at the 
time, Martin Luther King

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and Coretta had just 
finished the bus boycott

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and so the US government did 
not really want that photograph

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to be publicized.

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And it just so happened 
that dad grew up

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with Martin Luther 
King in Atlanta.

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They were, you know, 
Atlanta boys, right?

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And they went to college 
together at Morehouse.

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So it was a real personal 
and professional moment.

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- The uniqueness of 
this photographer

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was that he had this connection 
in two very different lives.

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And one was his connection 
with politicians,

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politicians here in the United 
States, but also in Africa.

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He was very close with the 
government in Ghana, in Tunisia,

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and he was very well 
respected there.

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And parallel with this, he 
had a very close relationship

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with poets and 
writers and actors

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who represented the 
top of intelligence

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in Afro-American culture.

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Typically, people who have 
these artistic connections

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are not very much 
connected with politicians.

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And so this opened his horizon

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to photography journalism 
that is unparalleled

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by any different journalist.

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- As someone growing up 
with a photographer father,

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it was a pain in the neck

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because every five seconds 
is another photograph, right?

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So I now understand 
he was using me

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and then my brother as subjects 
to figure out the lighting

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and the this and the that.

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So he did take me to 
different settings

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and I did meet a whole lot 
of different celebrities,

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I guess you would call 
them, or historical figures.

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But I didn't know that they 
were historical figures.

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I just thought, "Oh, that's 
dad's and mom's friend."

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That's it.

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- There's a photograph 
of Sidney Poitier

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with Griffith Davis 
standing next to him.

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And what's so magical about 
it is that it is the presence

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of two men of African 
descent standing proudly

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and powerfully in their craft.

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So you get an idea of the 
influence of Griffith Davis

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because, at that point, Sidney 
Poitier had an acting career

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and was being recognized 
as a great actor.

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- The winner is Sidney Poitier-

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- And there he is side by 
side with Griffith Davis.

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It was a great 
moment to capture.

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- [Zora] His work 
was very pioneering.

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I think that now 
is the perfect time

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to bring it back 
to our attention.

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- We need to be informed 
about our history,

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and sometimes that 
information is uncomfortable,

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but it's also important.

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So in the case of 
Griffith Davis,

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what's so wonderful is that 
he fills in the blanks.

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- He is bringing 
light to our existence

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in a multi-dimensional way,

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and I think he's, like, painting 
us back into the picture.

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(soulful piano music)

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(bright music)

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- [Host] To learn more, 
visit griffdavis.com.