Frank Marshall Davis

Frank Marshall Davis (December 31, 1905 – July 26, 1987) was an American journalist, poet, political and labor movement activist, and businessman.

Davis began his career writing for African American newspapers in Chicago.

He moved to Atlanta, where he became the editor of the paper he turned into the Atlanta Daily World. He later returned to Chicago.

During this time, he was outspoken about political and social issues, while also covering topics that ranged from sports to music.

His poetry was sponsored by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) under President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal programs.

He also played a role in the South Side Writers Group in Chicago, and is considered among the writers of the Black Chicago Renaissance.

Davis was born in Arkansas City, Kansas, in 1905.

His parents divorced, and Davis grew up living with his mother and stepfather, and with his maternal grandparents.

he graduated from Arkansas City High School (Kansas).

In 1923, at age 17, he attended Friends University.

From 1924 to 1927, and again in 1929, he attended Kansas State Agricultural College, now Kansas State University.

When Davis entered Kansas State, twenty-five other African-American students were enrolled.

Kansas was segregated by custom, if not by law.

Davis studied industrial journalism.

He began to write poems as the result of a class assignment, and was encouraged by an English literature instructor to continue his poetry writing.

Davis pledged Phi Beta Sigma fraternity in 1925.

He left college before getting a degree.

In 1927, Davis moved to Chicago, a destination of tens of thousands of African Americans during the Great Migration.

He worked variously for the Chicago Evening Bulletin, the Chicago Whip, and the Gary American, all African American newspapers.

He also wrote free-lance articles and short stories for African American magazines.

During this time Davis began to write poetry seriously, including his first long poem, entitled Chicago's Congo, Sonata for an Orchestra.

In 1931 Davis moved to Atlanta to become an editor of a twice-weekly paper.

Later that year he became the paper's managing editor.

In 1932 the paper, renamed as the Atlanta Daily World became the nation's first successful black daily newspaper.

Davis continued to write and publish poems, which came to the attention of Chicago socialite Frances Norton Manning.

She introduced him to Norman Forgue, the publisher of Black Cat Press.

In the summer of 1935, Forgue published Davis' first book, Black Man's Verse.

In 1935, Davis returned to Chicago to take the position of managing editor of the Associated Negro Press (ANP), a news service founded in 1919 for black newspapers.

Eventually, Davis became executive editor of the ANP.

Davis, Richard Wright, Margaret Walker, and others were part of the South Side Writers Group, which met regularly beginning in 1936 to critique each other's work.

They were part of what became known as the Black Chicago Renaissance.

Davis also worked as a sports reporter, in particular covering the rivalry between African-American boxer Joe Louis and the German Max Schmeling.

In the late 1940s, Davis moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, where he ran a small business.

He became involved in local labor issues.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) tracked his activities as they had investigated union activists since the early 20th century.

He held the position until 1947.

While in Chicago, Davis also started a photography club, worked for numerous political parties, and participated in the League of American Writers.

Davis was an avid photographer, and inspired writer Richard Wright's interest in the field.

Davis wrote that his photography consisted in large part of nudes because "the female body fascinates me, both aesthetically and emotionally."

He said that when photographing, he focused on "contours" and the "wide range of tones".