Mayor Lawrence Davies Deserves More Than a Bus Station

Who best represents the qualities of "patriot" and "emancipator" than our very own Mayor Lawrence Davies? And why not U.S. 1?

Photo courtesy Shiloh Baptist Church (Old Site)

“Service is the rent we pay for the space we occupy in the world.”

— Mayor Lawrence Davies

Eight votes.

Growing up in Fredericksburg during the Mayor Davies era, there was a certain degree of pride when mentioning Hizzoner — a man so beloved by the city he represented, Mayor Davies was and remains referred to as “Mayor for Life” and with good reason.

Those who are recent arrivals to our fair city might wonder aloud as to whether Mayor Davies had a first name at all. As a young elementary school student, one was almost surprised to learn that Mayor Davies did indeed have a first name, and it was Pastor — because Old Shiloh Baptist Church was indeed his first vocation.

Of course, recent arrivals can take some small degree of heart from the fact that Davies himself was also a recent arrival to Fredericksburg. His introduction to city politics was the creation of an organization known as Citizens United for Action, an anti-racist coalition built around opposition to the poll tax (among other issues) which fielded precisely two candidates in 1964 for City Council before Davies himself emerged victorious by winning his own seat in 1966 — the city’s first Black representative in local government — and much to the chagrin of the teetering scaffoldry of Massive Resistance.

Needless to say, Davies would take on the city fathers in 1976 with a bid for mayor in a contest which — though not sharp — was sharply contested.

Davies won by a mere eight votes.

Thus by the slimmest of margins, a two-decade span of leadership began during the most tumultuous economic periods of Fredericksburg history. Spotsylvania Mall had bled Downtown Fredericksburg of her businesses, suburbia was encroaching upon our fair city, historic preservation nosedived, and the unique qualities which made Fredericksburg home were under tremendous pressure to do something — quickly.

Consensus and Charisma: The Fredericksburg Way

While lesser substitutes would have opted for coercion and willpower, Mayor Davies exercised something more fundamentally deep and understanding. Davies would show how the common good could triumph over the factions and grift, bridging the old to the new by using two tried and true tools: a handshake and a smile.

Under Mayor Davies, Fredericksburg did not freeze in a condition of stasis. In fact, Fredericksburg grew by leaps and bounds with a 20-year vision filled with possibilities, treating residents as a positive good rather than a problem to be contained.

Davies oversaw the construction of two schools, the revitalization of Downtown Fredericksburg after the opening of Spotsylvania Mall in 1978, and the annexation of the area more formally known today as Central Park and Celebrate Virginia — a far-sighted if contested move which over the course of years and the efforts of Carl Silver financially revitalized the city coffers. This is just the highlight reel. Mayor Davies’ involvement in Fredericksburg’s future is almost too great to count unless we aggregate it into a simple phrase too often lost today: Mayor Davies cared about Fredericksburg as a people, not just a concept.

Yet it is Pastor Davies and his 50-year ministry in Fredericksburg which provided the bedrock for all the rest. One almost hesitates to mention the achievements. Low-income housing? Davies was already on that. Mental health facilities? Thank you, Mayor Davies. The new Mary Washington Hospital? Davies did that.

Public transportation for working class residents? There’s a reason why the bus station is named in his honor.

A MODEST PROPOSAL: The Lawrence Davies Highway (Do It)

Of course, we could end it here.

However, I have a modest proposal.

If there is anything about the modern era we have today, it is our lack of heroes — intentional or otherwise. For instance, I remember a time when “Mayor for Life” Davies was indeed a hero. Our parents and grandparents loved the man. Everything Fredericksburg is today would not be this way without his leadership — it is as simple and straightforward as that.

One could go on. I remember a time when to be a James Farmer Scholar was a distinct honor. Not just a one-off thing either, it was something valedictorians and salutatorians chased, sought, pursued. One suspects that our local leaders would need a mere re-introduction to the man and his legacy to restore the James Farmer Scholarship to its rightful place among our five localities.

I mildly digress.

Once upon a time, the name of a Mississippian dangled over U.S. 1.

Since the 1920s, we got used to the name as its tentacle extended from Arlington towards Richmond. Yet as recently as 2021, the name of this highway was swapped along with a host of second-place trophies for more anodyne concepts. Stafford and Spotsylvania opted for Patriot while Fredericksburg simply allowed the Virginia General Assembly default to Emancipation to conquer the Mississippian interlocutor a second time.

IF ONLY… Fredericksburg had any heroes.
IF ONLY… we could think of someone — anyone — to honor.
IF ONLY… there was a man who embraced the best of both patriotism and emancipation whom we could recognize.
IF ONLY… we understand that discussions about naming highways and memorials are seriously important and worth the direct investment of taxpayer dollars because whom we choose to honor communicates more than just our values, but those who represent those values in a world that brings out the best of our inherent dignity and aspirations, and when we refuse to honor heroes — either through laziness or malice — and default to mere abstractions we tacitly admit through inaction that these qualities which some claim to admire are only realized in heroes — not words — and that just maybe Fredericksburg is swimming in heroes who deserve to be honored, but those who proved to be heroes among heroes.

<gasp>

You know what I want.

How much more honorable is the Lawrence Davies Highway? Would you not love to hear your children or grandchildren ask the question “Who is Lawrence Davies?” and be able to respond with a bit of pride and dignity, after a man who represented the best qualities of patriot and emancipator.

What would it take? One delegate or state senator. A few phone calls to local leaders who understand such things. Maybe another article or two — or better still, one local Democrat and one local Republican willing to do something extraordinary.

Delegates Joshua Cole and Phil Scott — we are looking at you fellas.

“Service Is the Rent We Pay for the Space We Occupy in the World”

Mayor for Life Davies was an exceptional leader during exceptional times. Exceptional not just for what he accomplished as mayor, exceptional not just for what he accomplished as pastor, but rather Mayor Davies was exceptional for how he conducted his business.

As a young man, one learned that Davies’ exceptional qualities were not a performance, nor were they the carefully crafted motions of a politician. Rather, Mayor Davies understood whom he was working for — the common good of the people of the City of Fredericksburg. There’s the secret at the end of the day. Davies recognized and saw the good in people, and that seeing — that recognition — was so deep, so genuine, and at his core that he could not help but be joyful in the pursuit of that common good.

It would perhaps be not terribly impolitic to mention that Davies’ faith fed this belief in people. As with most Christians who see the imago Dei in others, our present age pressures us to feel embarrassment to repeat our why. Davies would not have been shy or afraid to mention Jesus Christ. Neither, in fact, should we.

Yet Davies never imposed the particulars, even if his call to service was rooted in a someone rather than a something — a rarity today. Davies enjoyed and practiced the quality of a gentleman — worthy of both honor and emulation among those who wish to serve their community.

That we nearly missed the gift of his leadership by a mere eight votes should be a reminder of what we owe by showing up. That is the heart of service, and Davies knew this and shared this with others in a way few did or could.

Few can say that the world is a better place for them having lived. In the case of Mayor Lawrence Davies, we may never actualize the true depth of our gratitude — of what we owe to this man — on this side of the grave. Fredericksburg would not be Fredericksburg without our Mayor for Life. Yet once fathomed and considered, Lawrence Davies more than any other public figure did more to fashion the identity of Fredericksburg. In fact, one is at pains to consider a rival, but do not trouble yourself too long — there is none.

Our debt will forever remain his legacy. May we repay it with both service and interest.

---

SHAUN KENNEY is a columnist for the Fredericksburg Advance. His grandfather, Arthur Street, ran for Fredericksburg City Council under the Citizens United for Action ticket in 1964 — and finished eighth out of nine candidates.