AUSTIN DAVIS, left, was sworn-in as Pennsylvania’s first Black Lieutenant Governor on Jan. 17. By his side is the state’s Second Lady, Blayre Holmes Davis, Austin Davis’ wife.
Lee Street. In McKeesport.
That’s where Austin Davis lived, going to and from McKeesport Area High School as an ambitious teenager.
But when he was 16, the gun violence that had affected parts of McKeesport hit close to home.
“When I was 16, somebody was shot on my block,” Davis told the New Pittsburgh Courier in an exclusive interview, Jan. 24. “That was kind of a jarring moment for my family, the first time gun violence had reached our neighborhood.”
Davis didn’t back down. “I decided that I wanted to do something about it,” he said, something about the crime, the neighborhood, the city that he had come to love.
Davis, a sophomore in high school, went to a McKeesport City Coun cil meeting, and the first thing he noticed…? “There was nobody who looked like me serving in city government.”
Also, “no one talking about the issue of gun violence in my community.”
Davis, with the blessing of the McKeesport mayor at the time, Jim Brewster (now a Pa. senator), started the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council to help tackle gun violence and other youth violence in the city. It included Davis and about a dozen other students from the town performing a number of community service projects and trying to come up with viable solutions to the violence problems.
“Maybe some of the other kids might have thought it was weird that we decided to get involved,” Davis told the Courier, “but there were a lot of people who encouraged us to get involved and stay involved.”
AUSTIN DAVIS SPEAKS AT HIS INAUGURATION CEREMONY, JAN. 17. HE’S THE FIRST BLACK LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR IN PENNSYLVANIA HISTORY.
Fast forward to Jan. 17, 2023. The now-33-year-old Austin Davis is still involved in getting solutions to the problems. But on a much larger scale. He’s now known as Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis, the inauguration ceremony occurring on Jan. 17 in Harrisburg in the Senate chambers. Sworn-in by Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas President Judge Kim Berkeley Clark, with his left hand on the Bible and right hand firmly raised, Davis became the first Black lieutenant governor in the history of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
“This is a special day truly, for me personally and for our great Commonwealth,” remarked Lt. Gov. Davis, just moments after being sworn-in. “This day would not have been possible without the unwavering love and support of Pennsylvania’s now-Second Lady, my wife, Blayre Holmes Davis. Every day she pushes me to be the best version of myself, day in and day out, whether as an elected official or simply as a man.”
Lt. Gov. Davis thanked his parents for instilling in him “the values of hard work, compassion and empathy, the very values we hope are instilled in all of our leaders.”
The lieutenant governor called his history-making feat “a symbol of our progress, here in the Commonwealth we love, and it’s one that I hope serves as a point of pride for millions of Pennsylvanians who have never before seen themselves represented in the halls of power.”
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro selected Lt. Gov. Davis, a University of Pittsburgh graduate, to be his informal running mate more than a year ago.
“Throughout his career, Austin Davis has fought for the people of Western Pennsylvania, standing up for families who work hard to make ends meet and communities that have been forgotten,” Shapiro said in a statement at the time. “I’ve always surrounded myself with people who bring different life experiences to my team—and I’m proud to endorse Austin Davis because I know he will make my administration stronger as our next Lieutenant Governor.”
The Shapiro/Davis tandem traversed Pennsylvania from the pillar to the post. Nothing is ever easy, but, at least from a Democratic Party perspective, the well-respected Shapiro had no challengers in May 2022’s Midterm Election. And in the General Election in November, Shapiro, formerly the state’s Attorney General, cruised to a 56 to 41 percentage victory over Republican challenger Doug Mastriano.
“Josh, at every step along the way, has never shied away from taking on the biggest fights,” Lt. Gov. Davis told the Courier. “…He’s the same person that, after the killing of George Floyd and Antwon Rose, stood up to help get a piece of police reform legislation through a Republican General Assembly…he’s always taken on the biggest fights to fight for everyday Pennsylvanians, and he’ll do just that as governor.”
Lt. Gov. Davis always pays homage to the many people who paved the way for him to make it to this premier stage. People like K. Leroy Irvis, former Speaker of the Pa. House of Representatives, and Chief Justice Robert Nix, the first African American in the Pa. House and Chief Justice of the Pa. Supreme Court from 1984-96.
“These people paved the way for this historic moment, and I’m so mindful of the history that I carry and the privilege to serve,” Lt. Gov. Davis said.
“You are a shining example,” said President Judge Clark, before she performed the swearing-in of Lt. Gov. Davis. “You are hope for all the little boys and girls in Pennsylvania that look like you.”
She also told Lt. Gov. Davis to be a servant leader, remain humble, and be kind.
As Lt. Gov. Davis walks the walk, he told the Courier that he would always be “a champion for marginalized communities and communities that have felt unseen and unheard and forgotten.”
And he knows that the young people, especially the young people who are African American, are watching him, looking up to him. He knows some of them may be living in communities that don’t have the same resources that wealthy communities have. Or there could be crime issues happening in their community. His message to the young people? “Even though you’re young, it’s your community, you have a stake in it, so if you see something that you don’t like happening…get involved in the process; whether that’s your church, local community group, city government…I would encourage young people to try to stay focused. I know there are a lot of things that can pull at young people, particularly in today’s environment, but I really encourage them to stay focused on the things that are actually going to improve their lives.”
Harrisburg, Pa.—1.17.23
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