Charles A. Davis Papers

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  • Collection ID ARCHIVES 200309
  • Creator Names Davis, Charles A., 1922-
  • Title Papers 1946-2009
  • Physical description 16 linear feet
  • Collection arrangement Materials are arranged into ten series: Biographical; Manuscripts; Charles A. Davis Associates, Inc. (C.A.D.A.) Correspondence; Highland Community Bank (HCB); Obituaries and Funeral Programs; Subject Research Files; Oral History (Audio); Photographs; Memorabilia.
  • Access and usage restrictions Available for research in the Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature, Carter G. Woodson Regional Library, Chicago Public Library.
  • Collection summary Charles Davis was a journalist, a public relations specialist and an entrepreneur. During the 1940s, he served as the leading political reporter for the Chicago Defender. In the 1960s, he was one of the founders of the Coordinating Council of Community Organizations. Davis was director of the National Insurance Association and served on the boards of several important Chicago companies. His papers include primarily correspondence, but also manuscripts, photographs, programs, clippings and memorabilia.
  • Biographical or Historical Note Born in 1922 Mobile, Alabama to Robert A. Davis and Clara Williams Davis, Charles and his two brothers and two sisters (a third brother deceased) soon moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee where his father served as the Atlanta Life Insurance agent. Sadly, both parents soon succumbed to tuberculosis and in 1931 the orphaned children (Robert, Clarice, Marguerite, and Charles) were transferred to Chicago in the care of maternal grandfather. Charles attended high school at Wendell Phillips, later named DuSable High School until his 1939 graduation. He spent a short time working as Pullman porter before being drafted into the U.S.. Army in 1943. That same year he married Rosalie Dorsey. After his discharge from the army Davis went to work as a reporter for the Chicago Defender. In 1959 Davis left to establish his own company, Charles A. Davis Associates, Inc, a public relations, advertising and marketing firm. In 1962 Davis accepted the position of executive director at the National Insurance Association (NIA), where he served for more than twenty years. Davis served on the boards of several community banks; as well as on boards of organizations such as the NAACP Southside Chicago Branch, the Chicago Urban League, the Chicago Renewal Society, and several local foundations.
  • Finding Aids Note Finding aid available in the Harsh Research Collection, Carter G. Woodson Regional Library, Chicago Public Library and on the library's web site.
  • Acquisition information Deed of gift from Charles A. Davis, July 10, 2003
  • Names
    • Davis, Charles A., 1922- Archives.
    • Chicago Urban League Sources.
    • Highland Community Bank (Chicago, Ill.) Sources.
    • Commodore, Chester, 1914-2004.
  • Subjects
    • African American executives Illinois Chicago.
    • African American businesspeople Illinois Chicago.
    • Banks and banking Illinois Chicago.
    • Minority-owned banks Illinois Chicago.
  • Finding aid URL http://www.chipublib.org/fa-charles-a-davis-papers/