[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 84 (Tuesday, May 17, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2541-S2542]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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            REMEMBERING DR. ETHELDRA ``THEL'' SAMPSON DAVIS

 Ms. MURKOWSKI. Madam President, I rise today to bring the 
Senate's attention to the life and legacy of an Alaskan trailblazer, a 
woman of enormous heart and energy whose dedication to the young people 
of Anchorage, AK, was deep and made a positive difference.
  Etheldra ``Thel'' Sampson Davis was born in Arkansas in 1931, one of 
eight children. After her family moved to California while she was a 
child, she graduated from LA City College with an associate of arts 
degree in 1951 and subsequently earned a bachelor's degree in education 
from the University of California, Los Angeles. She practiced her 
profession in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles for 8 years.
  In 1957, Thel visited her adventurous older brothers in Anchorage, 
AK, and fell in love with the State. After becoming certified to teach 
in Alaska, she became the first African-American on-contract teacher in 
the Anchorage School District in 1959. As a teacher, she contributed to 
the future of the Anchorage community at five Anchorage elementary 
schools: Willow Crest, Airport Heights, Government Hill, Mountain View, 
and Denali. And in 1965, she earned her master's in education degree 
from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
  In 1967, she became the assistant principal at Willow Crest 
Elementary School. And in 1969--the same year in which she married 
Joseph Davis--she applied for and was hired to fill the position of 
principal at Fairview Elementary School. This was yet another 
trailblazing moment for Thel, as she was the first African-American 
principal in Anchorage. She later became principal at the new Ptarmigan 
Elementary and later the John F. Kennedy Elementary School on Fort 
Richardson near Anchorage. Always seeking additional knowledge and 
skill, Thel achieved yet another goal by earning her doctorate in 
education from California's Newport University in 1975.
  Thel taught and provided leadership for Anchorage area students and 
her fellow educators for 21 years until her retirement in 1980. A 
former superintendent of the Anchorage School District has said of 
Thel's service, ``Etheldra had a true passion and belief that ALL 
students can succeed if given a rigorous academic program coupled with 
love and concern.'' The Anchorage School Board, in reviewing the 
proposal to rename Fairview Elementary School in her honor, noted that 
her ``passion and commitment to the students entrusted to her care is 
legendary.'' No better tribute can ever be said of an educator.
  But throughout her career, Thel was not only a busy teacher and 
principal. In addition to her school-based contributions to the 
Anchorage community, Thel was an active member in a variety of 
community and national organizations, including the Alpha Kappa Alpha 
Sorority and National Education Association. She also helped to 
establish several youth mentoring organizations, including the NAACP 
Youth Council and the United League of Girls. As a member of the Black 
Educators Taskforce, she helped to recruit and mentor African-American 
teachers and administrators for Anchorage's schools.
  After her retirement, Thel continued to contribute through her role 
as a crime prevention specialist. Her work in that area resulted in the 
creation of the Neighborhood Watch program in Anchorage and the Alaska 
Coalition to Prevent Shoplifting.
  Thel continues to lift students up. Her lifelong dream came true with 
the creation of the Dr. Etheldra S. Davis Scholarship in 2019, which is 
dedicated to helping young people continue their education through 
whatever path is best for them, be it through the trades and 
apprenticeship or college.
  Thel ``gained her heavenly wings'' at the age of 85 on November 25, 
2020, due to complications from COVID-19.
  In recognition of the many contributions Dr. Davis made to 
Anchorage's youth and the community at large over her many years of 
service, the Anchorage School Board recently voted to rename the first 
school in which she

[[Page S2542]]

served as principal in her honor. Henceforth, this school will be known 
as Dr. Etheldra Davis Fairview Elementary School. It has been said that 
seeing Thel's name above the school doorway will ``serve as a beacon 
for generations of children to come in our neighborhood to show them, 
in a very diverse neighborhood, what they can accomplish if they apply 
themselves and they work hard.''
  I think we all understand how important it is for children to see 
adults who look like them and who share cultural history and 
perspectives as leaders in their lives. I can only imagine how powerful 
it must have been for Anchorage's African-American students to see an 
African-American teacher and principal serving them and their school, 
especially during the culturally fraught era of the 1950s and 1960s. I 
know that the children who attend Dr. Etheldra Davis Fairview 
Elementary School will continue to be inspired by her example for many 
years to come.
  I am proud to have known Thel and am proud today to come to the floor 
of the U.S. Senate to honor her and her many contributions to the 
community of Anchorage, AK, and, indeed, the entire State and 
Nation.

                          ____________________