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Belva Davis, pioneering Black journalist, remembered by family and friends
Belva Davis passed away at the age of 92, and her family and friends shared stories with KTVU about the beloved Bay Area broadcasting legend. Her husband Bill Moore, a retired KTVU photographer, spoke about her final days surrounded by her loving family.
OAKLAND, Calif. - Belva Davis, the Bay Area and West Coast's first Black female television news anchor, has died at 92. KTVU has learned she died Wednesday morning after a long illness.
Her career spanned more than five decades as she worked in print, radio and television. According to the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, (NATAS) San Francisco/Northern California Chapter inducted her into the Gold Circle Class of 2013, one year after her retirement from KQED in 2012.
Davis worked for several Bay Area television news outlets, including KTVU, KPIX, KRON, as well as the aforementioned public TV station – KQED, where she hosted the KQED-PBS show, This Week in Northern California, for nearly 20 years.
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Belva Davis, trailblazing Black Bay Area journalist, dies at 92
Belva Davis, the Bay Area and West Coasts first Black female television news anchor, has died at 92. KTVU has learned she died Wednesday morning after a long illness.
It was here at KTVU where she made her television debut in 1963, covering an African American beauty pageant. KPIX in San Francisco hired her in 1966, making her the first Black female television journalist in the West. She was also KRON's chief political reporter.
Revered as an icon and trailblazer in the industry, she covered several of the Bay Area's biggest stories of her era, including student unrest at Berkeley, the Black Panther movement, the People's Temple cult and the mass suicides at Jonestown. She reported on the assassinations of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, the AIDS epidemic, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and the historic election of Barack Obama in 2008.
Among her achievements and recognitions are her seven Emmy Awards, the NATAS Silver Circle Award in 1989, and the Governor's Award in 1995. In 2018, she was inducted into the California Museum Hall of Fame.
In 2011, she penned her memoir, "Never in My Wildest Dreams: A Black Woman's Life in Journalism," which tells of her journey throughout her career as a reporter who made it to the anchor desk. The book continues to inspire journalists to this day.
According to the publisher's book description, Davis was born during the Great Depression and raised in the projects of Oakland, California.
After she graduated from Berkeley High School, she began her journalism career writing for JET magazine.
Her family issued a statement saying Davis would have turned 93 in October.
They said Davis died peacefully in her sleep, adding that while media coverage of her death would focus on her pioneering nature, as well as being a civil rights advocate, to them, "she was just Mom and ‘Nana’. Mom had an uncanny knack for asking questions that allowed different points of view to drive civil discourse," the statement read.
Davis had been married to a former KTVU photographer, Bill Moore, since 1963.
"Dad will miss the love of his life and the only (girl friend) he ever had," the family's statement read. Davis leaves behind her two children, and two grandchildren among other relatives.
KTVU's Dave Clark posted a tribute on social media that read, "Sadness…and farewell" and continued to call Davis a "broadcasting legend" as she broke the color barrier.
Belva Davis (left) pictured with KTVU's Dave Clark.
Former San Francisco mayors Willie Brown and London Breed reflected on Davis' legacy.
Former SF Mayor Brown said her legacy will be similar to other women journalists such as Barbara Walters and contemporary broadcasters like Gayle King.
"What she did to really open up the doors for African Americans in journalism and the opportunities that she helped to provide was extraordinary," said Breed. The former mayor said Davis reflected on her own career, saying it was not an easy one.
"Even in the Board of Supervisors chamber, she was not allowed inside," Breed said. "She had to hold a microphone. And she was not allowed to enter chambers and that was not so long ago in the history of even the city of San Francisco."
Breed attributed her success as the first Black female mayor of San Francisco to Davis' trailblazing efforts long before her. "She set an example. We got to see her on television as we were growing up here in the city. We knew that because of people like Belva Davis we could achieve whatever we wanted."
The family said a memorial is being planned.