[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 150 (Wednesday, November 28, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1825]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO BELVA DAVIS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ANNA G. ESHOO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 28, 2012

  Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor an extraordinary woman, 
Belva Davis, and her storied career. She has been an icon of Bay Area 
journalism, and the first African-American reporter on the West Coast 
of the United States.
  Belva Davis was born in Monroe, Louisiana, on October 13, 1932, to 
John and Florence Davis. She moved with her parents and three younger 
siblings to West Oakland at the age of eight, and the family later 
moved to Berkeley. Belva graduated from Berkeley High School in 1951, 
the first in her family to graduate from high school, married at the 
age of 20, and had two children. Belva's first job was as a typist, and 
next as a freelancer for Jet. She began writing for the Sun Reporter 
and the Bay Area Independent, and in 1961 she became an on-air 
interviewer for KSAN. She made her television debut hosting an African-
American beauty pageant. In 2010 she published her autobiography, Never 
in my Wildest Dreams: A Black Woman's Life in Journalism, which begins 
with her story of being chased from the 1964 Republican Convention at 
the Cow Palace in San Francisco by a threatening crowd screaming racist 
slurs.
  During her news career, Belva Davis covered the birth of the Black 
Panthers, the assassination of Mayor George Moscone, and the Free 
Speech Movement at Berkeley. She has interviewed countless world 
leaders, anchored hundreds of news programs on several stations, and 
been part of many organizations, including the Museum of the African 
Diaspora, which she was instrumental in creating.
  Belva Davis has earned countless accolades. She was inducted into the 
Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame in 2007, and has been awarded two honorary 
doctorate degrees. She has earned six regional Emmy Awards, and 
received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of 
Television Arts and Sciences in 1996. Leader Nancy Pelosi said of 
Belva, ``When she speaks, people listen.''
  Mr. Speaker, I ask the entire House of Representatives to join me in 
expressing our deepest gratitude to Belva Davis for her inspiring 
leadership of countless women who seek careers in broadcasting, and for 
the thousands of hours of quality television she has provided as host 
of ``This Week in Northern California'' on KQED, from which she retired 
in November, 2012. We wish Belva and her beloved husband Bill Moore 
every blessing as they enjoy the fruits of their well-deserved 
retirement. Because of her first rate professionalism, broad knowledge 
and intellect, she has informed Bay Area citizens for decades, 
strengthening our communities, our country and our democracy.

                          ____________________