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If It Is To Be, It Is Up To Me Brother Harold Davis, a commis-sioned lay minister, has a long career of leadership with his denomination the American Baptist Churches in the U. S. A. At his home church, McGee Avenue Baptist Church in Berkeley, California, he has served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees, deacon and church school leader. Regionally, he has served as President of the Board of Managers of the American Baptist Churches of the West and as Chairman of the Board of Trustees at the American Baptist Seminary of the West, also located in Berkeley. Nationally, he has been Chairman of the ABC Board of Educational Ministries and a member of the Board of Managers for the Ministers and Missionaries Retirement Plan. And, for the past two years, he has served as Vice President of the denomination. With such a track record of service, it should be no suprise that in January Brother Davis was named President of the American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A. Professionally, Brother Davis is an urban housing expert. His 17-year (and counting) tenure as Executive Director of the Housing Authority of Oakland marks him as the dean of executives among large, urban housing authorities. In that position, he manages some 9,500 units of housing for more than 27,000 residents. He also presides over a $50 million annual budget and commands the Housing Authority Police Force and its public works department. His successful management of the Oakland authority (along with his previous work as Executive Director of the Alameda County Redevelopment Agency from 1964 to 1968) has earned him respect as one of the nation's top experts on urban redevelopment. That respect, in turn, makes him a much sought-after speaker and consultant on urban affairs, among both the public and private sectors. At the grassroots level, "Harold Davis Avenue" in Hayward, California serves to reflect the esteem he has generated locally during his career. If you wonder how the New Orleans native can balance two such e n o r m o u s responsibilities, consider that another institution - the YMCA - has also benefited from his leadership and service. Brother Davis is a former President of the National Council of the YMCAs, following stints on the Board of the Berkeley YMCA and as Board Chairman for the Pacific Region of the National Council. He is currently a member of the National Board and the National Executive Committee for the YMCA. His other community service affiliations include life membership in the NAACP and Alpha Phi Alpha; as well as volunteer work with Children's Hospital of Northern California and Providence Hospital in Oakland. Brother Davis, 56, credits his family and extended family, within the community and especially the church, with molding the two important cornerstones of his life — a commitment to the church and a healthy respect for education. Brother Davis graduated from Southern University, cum laude, in 1952 and in 1957, after Army The Sphinx/Summer 1988
In J a n u a r y , Brother Harold Davis was installed as President of the American Baptist Churches in the
USA. service as a commissioned officer, he earned the Master of Arts d e g r e e , cum laude, from the University of California at Berkeley. He made an early decision that local government was the forum in which he could most effectively impact society and his first job as a social worker started his meteoric climb up the career ladder. Brother Davis is also a family man. He and Barbara (May) Davis were married in 1955. She is a former high school mathematics teacher who currently serves as a guidance counselor in the Oakland public schools. The Davises are the parents of two children: Harold, Jr., a veterinary student at the University of California, and Deborah, a television producer in the Bay Area. As President of the American Baptists, Brother Davis will steer the denomination through a number of critical decisions during his two year term (through 1989). He is confident of progress, as are those who entrusted the leadership of this sacred institution to him. Brother Davis has no doubt that God has called him to an important ministry and he has asked ABC members to adopt a credo he has applied to his own life for many years: If it is to be, it is up to me. That philosophy is bound to reap rewards for the entire ABC family. Page 13