Larry Davis, pioneering dean of Pitt School of Social Work, dies at 74

Editor’s note: Mr. Davis’ age was incorrect in the original version of this story.

When Larry Davis was promoting his most recent book “Why Are They Angry With Us?” in February 2016, he shared his frustration over the lack of progress when it came to race relations in America.

“The country has to begin to see this white/non-white conflict as being against America’s interests,” Davis said. “There’s a world out there. Things are going on out there. We need workers. We’re wasting a lot of talent. We’re wasting a lot of time. We’re having a fight within our own group, and it’s leading to our own demise. We really need to find a way to benefit all of us.”

That was Davis’ philosophy. Finding a way for Blacks and whites to share equally in the American dream and hold honest conversations about solving the problems caused by racial tensions. It was something he dedicated his life to.

Davis, who was dean emeritus of the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work and the founding director of the nationally renowned Center on Race and Social Problems, died Tuesday. He was 74. A cause of death was not released.

“Larry was a remarkable leader and scholar. He took on society’s toughest challenges and worked tirelessly to realize a better, fairer world,” Pitt Chancellor Patrick Gallagher said. “He leaves us with an enduring legacy that inspires us to do better. On behalf of the extended University of Pittsburgh community, I extend my deepest condolences to Larry’s wife, Kim, his sons, and his many loved ones at this difficult time.”

Davis was dean of Pitt’s School of Social Work from 2001-2018 but he remained actively involved in conversations on race after that, giving a Zoom lecture last September entitled “Will Race Always Matter?” It was sponsored by the Dick Thornburgh Forum for Law and Public Policy.

Davis framed the discussion by flatly stating that the country is facing probably the greatest racial crisis since the Civil War.

As was his style, he was simply trying to level with people.

“Race matters more today because we know more about race matters,” Davis said. “The iPhone camera and social media has made it all but impossible for racism to go unnoticed and unrecorded. Technology has served to pull back the curtain on the country’s racial problems.

“Millions of whites who had been largely silent, now are saying ‘enough is enough.’”

Davis concluded by asking his audience to engage in what the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis referred to as “good trouble.”

“Challenge existing racial status quos where and when you find them,” Davis said. “Make our city into the best of American cities. In the words of the esteemed Mississippi civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer, let us say to the rest of America that Pittsburgh is ‘sick and tired of being sick and tired of racial injustice and we’re simply not going to take it anymore.’”

Davis was introduced that night by his close friend, Pitt Chancellor Emeritus Mark Nordenberg, who called Davis a person of real impact.

“The distinctive strength of Larry Davis was his ability to raise difficult issues in ways that did not immediately push people into adversarial positions,” Nordenberg said. “Instead he had a way of raising issues in ways that encouraged people to listen, to learn more and to think about what they might do to make our community and our country better. We need more people like Larry today.”

Esther Bush, president and CEO of the Urban League of Pittsburgh, remembered that when Davis founded the Center on Race and Social Problems, the first of its kind in the country, he insisted on having the word “race” in the title.

“While many people at Pitt, including some in the highest ranks, agreed to him starting his center, there was a great deal of pushback about the name of the center. ‘Can’t we do the same thing but not have the word ‘race’ in the title?’ And said he said ‘No, because I want people to be clear about what this center is supposed to do,’” Bush said. “I just loved Larry because he was real and unafraid.”

Elizabeth Farmer, dean of the Pitt School of Social Work, called Davis a trailblazer who drew on his personal experiences navigating a segregated America in the 1950s and ’60s to teach people about race relations.

“He was really a master at connecting the personal to the conceptual,” Farmer said. “His last book really brought it together using his story as a way to help people understand and really examine the impact of race in individual lives and in our society. I was impressed with how he saw everything for what it was. And he was unequivocal in pointing out where he saw contradictions or problems or inequalities.”

Professor of social work Daniel Rosen was the first person Davis hired at Pitt. He said Davis was most proud of putting the School of Social Work on the map as one of the top schools of its kind in the nation.

“Within that he was fiercely proud of the fact that the Center on Race and Social Problems was located within the School of Social Work,” Rosen said. “That this was part of who we were and part of our identity as a school. And I think that attracted a lot of researchers and practitioners and faculty to come here.”

James Huguley, Center on Race and Social Problems interim director, enjoyed pointing out that Davis was recognized nationally. He had appeared on “The Phil Donahue Show” and met world champion boxer and social activist Muhammad Ali.

“Larry had a major hand in how activists and scholars are crafting a genuine and truthful narrative around race in this country,” Huguley said. “And now that we have people’s ears, we’re able to tell a compelling story because of Larry and other leaders in the field.”

Bush said Davis’ leadership will be missed.

“He helped Pitt gain more respect and appreciation from the community at large,” Bush said. “I am so proud to have served on his advisory board and would smile every time I heard another goal that he had.

“We still need a Larry Davis.”