Bettye Davis
Member of the Alaska Senate
from the K district
In office
January 8, 2001 – January 15, 2013
Preceded byTim Kelly
Succeeded byredistricted
Member of the Alaska House of Representatives
from the 21st district
In office
January 18, 1993 – January 13, 1997
Preceded byredistricted
Succeeded byJoe Ryan
Member of the Alaska House of Representatives
from the 14th district
In office
January 21, 1991 – January 18, 1993
Serving with Ramona L. Barnes[1]
Preceded byWalter R. Furnace
Succeeded byredistricted
Personal details
Born
Bettye Jean Ivory

(1938-05-17)May 17, 1938
Homer, Louisiana
DiedDecember 2, 2018(2018-12-02) (aged 80)
Anchorage, Alaska
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseWidowed
ResidenceAnchorage, Alaska
Alma materGrambling State University
ProfessionSocial worker

Bettye Jean Davis (née Ivory; May 17, 1938 – December 2, 2018) was an American social worker and politician. She was the first African-American to be elected as an Alaska State Senator in 2000.[2]

Davis was a Democratic Party member of the Alaska House of Representatives, representing the fourteenth and twenty-first districts from 1991 through 1996[3] and the Alaska Senate, representing the K District from 2000 through 2013. During her time in the Alaska Senate she co-sponsored legislation introduced by Representative Sharon M. Cissna to address the needs of Alaska's aging adult population. Senator Davis was referred to as "the conscience of the Legislature" due to her advocacy for programs which supported vulnerable Alaskans.[4]

She was inducted into the Alaska Women's Hall of Fame in 2010.[5] She was defeated in the 2012 general election for State Senate district M by Anna Fairclough. In April 2013 she was elected to the Anchorage School Board, a body on which she'd served non-consecutive terms in the 1980s and 1990s.[6] Davis died at her home in Anchorage at the age of 80.[7][8]

In July 2020, Bettye Davis East Anchorage High School, a high school in Anchorage was renamed in her honor.[9]

Biography

Early life

Davis was born to Daniel and Rosyland Ivory on May 17, 1938, in Homer, Louisiana and graduated from Elliott High School in Bernice, La.[10]

Education

Davis graduated from Elliott High School in Bernice, Louisiana in 1956.[3] She received her bachelor's degree in social work from Grambling State University in 1972, her nursing degree from Saint Anthony College of Nursing in 1961 and completed graduate level studies in social work at the University of Alaska Anchorage.[3]

Expanded description

She resided in Anchorage, Alaska for over 45 years where she was an active member of the Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church.[11] Davis served on the NAACP Anchorage branch board of directors for four years (1978-1982).

Significant legislation

As a result of the 2004 bipartisan Legislative hearing, "Aging Adults: Is there room for us in Alaska," which captured testimony from hundreds of aging Alaskans, their families and caregivers, Davis helped develop the SeniorCare program. SeniorCare (2004) sought to fill a need for prescription drug relief following the cut of the Alaska Longevity Bonus program in 2003 and prior to the implementation of the Federal Medicare prescription drug program in 2006. Additionally, 39 recommendations were put forth as a result of the panel discussions and testimony collected during the legislative hearing. Recommendations addressed critical needs and improvements to senior services in areas of organizational effectiveness, program development, program integrity, research and education and funding.[12]

Honors, decorations, awards and distinctions

Notes

  1. ↑ Urban legislative districts in Alaska at the time were two-member districts with designated seats A and B. Davis held Seat B in District 14.
  2. ↑ "Bettye Davis Obituary". Anchorage Daily News. December 9, 2018. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Honorable Bettye Davis". The HistoryMakers. May 22, 2018. Archived from the original on January 17, 2019. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Bettye Davis First Black Woman in Alaska State House of Representatives". Extra Tough: Women of the North Exhibit. Anchorage Museum. Archived from the original on October 6, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  5. 1 2 "BETTYE Jean (Ivory) DAVIS". Alaska Women's Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on November 10, 2021. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
  6. ↑ School Board election: Davis ousts Smith; Croft wins seat Archived September 11, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, Anchorage Daily News, 2 April 2013. Accessed 8 September 2013.
  7. ↑ Bettye Davis-obituary
  8. ↑ Alaska State Legislature-Bettye Davis
  9. 1 2 Hanlon, Tegan (October 22, 2020). "Anchorage School Board renames high school after Bettye Davis, Alaska's 1st Black state senator". KTOO. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Bettye J. Davis 1938-2018". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Bettye J. Davis 1938-2018". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
  12. ↑ Aging adults in Alaska : a report based on the October 29, 2005 bipartisan legislative hearing: "Aging adults: is there room for us in Alaska?" hearing hosted by Representative Sharon Cissna ; cosponsored by Senators Bettye Davis ... [and others]. Juneau, AK: Alaska State Legislature. 2004. pp. 2, 81.
  13. ↑ "Senator Davis Biography". Alaska State Legislature. Archived from the original on September 13, 2008. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
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