Belva Davis was born on Belvagene Melton; October 13,1932 and is an American television and radio journalist.
23 Facts About Belva Davis
1.
2.
Belva Davis is the first African-American woman to have become a television reporter on the US West Coast.
3.
Belva Davis has won eight Emmy Awards and been recognized by the American Women in Radio and Television and National Association of Black Journalists.
4.
Belva Davis became an anchorwoman and hosted her own talk show, before retiring in 2012.
5.
Belva Davis's mother was 14 years old at Belva's birth, and Belva spent her early years living with various relatives.
6.
Belva Davis graduated from Berkeley High School in 1951, becoming the first member of her family to graduate from high school.
7.
Belva Davis applied and got accepted into San Francisco State University but couldn't afford to attend college.
8.
Belva Davis went to work as a typist at the Oakland Naval Supply Depot, earning $2,000 a year.
9.
Belva Davis accepted a freelance assignment in 1957 for Jet, a magazine focusing on African-American issues, and became a stringer for the publication.
10.
In 1961, Belva Davis became an on-air interviewer for KSAN, a San Francisco AM radio station broadcasting a rhythm and blues music format, targeting black listeners in the Bay Area.
11.
Belva Davis made her television debut in 1963 for KTVU, an Oakland-based television station, covering an African-American beauty pageant.
12.
Belva Davis worked as a disc jockey for KDIA, a soul-gospel radio station when the 1964 Republican National Convention, located at the Cow Palace in nearby Daly City, California, inspired her to become a reporter.
13.
Belva Davis worked for KNEW, an AM radio station located in Oakland, as an announcer in 1966.
14.
Belva Davis became the first female African-American television journalist on the West Coast when she was hired by KPIX-TV, the CBS affiliate based in San Francisco, in 1966.
15.
Belva Davis spent the next three decades working for KPIX, becoming an anchorwoman in 1970, and a few years later moved to the local NBC affiliate, KRON-TV.
16.
Belva Davis was highly regarded for her coverage of politics and issues of race and gender, as well as her calm demeanor.
17.
Belva Davis's autobiography, entitled Never in My Wildest Dreams: A Black Woman's Life in Journalism, was published in 2010.
18.
Belva Davis hosted "This Week in Northern California" on PBS member station KQED, starting in the 1990s.
19.
Belva Davis met her second husband, Bill Moore, in 1967 while working at KPIX-TV.
20.
Belva Davis serves on the boards of Museum of the African Diaspora, the Institute on Aging, and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
21.
Belva Davis raised $5 million for the Museum of the African Diaspora in one year.
22.
Belva Davis is an honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha.
23.
Belva Davis has received lifetime achievement awards from the American Women in Radio and Television and National Association of Black Journalists.