2022 Black Heritage Calendar - Presented by the Black Educators' Caucus Inc., of Hernando County
The BEC is a 501c3 service organization and affiliate of the Hernando County Classroom Teachers Association comprised of influential and impactful educators who formed forty years ago in 1981 to: Advance the interests of the teaching profession; Promote the welfare of the Black educators throughout Hernando County; and Ensure that the educational needs of the local Black community are met. Thank you to our amazing sponsors, patrons and advertisers for your support of this annual project!
The BEC is a 501c3 service organization and affiliate of the Hernando County Classroom Teachers Association comprised of influential and impactful educators who formed forty years ago in 1981 to: Advance the interests of the teaching profession; Promote the welfare of the Black educators throughout Hernando County; and Ensure that the educational needs of the local Black community are met. Thank you to our amazing sponsors, patrons and advertisers for your support of this annual project!
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Sarah Davis<br />
08/04/1929 - 05/13/2010<br />
Sarah Fletcher Davis was a respected retired public-school educator and community-minded<br />
matriarch <strong>of</strong> quiet strength and a firm resolve. She was a native <strong>of</strong> Brooksville, Florida, and<br />
a member <strong>of</strong> Moton High School’s 5th graduating class, <strong>the</strong> class <strong>of</strong> 1946. She came <strong>of</strong><br />
age during <strong>the</strong> Great Depression, WWII, <strong>the</strong> Great Migration, and <strong>the</strong> advent <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
modern civil rights movement. After high school, Sarah followed her sister, Eddie,<br />
to Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University in Tallahassee where she earned a<br />
Bachelor <strong>of</strong> Science degree in elementary education science. In 1954, she<br />
accepted a calling to return to her high school alma mater as an elementary<br />
school teacher where she taught many first-generation high school students<br />
whose parents moved to Brooksville from Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina<br />
as sharecroppers, cotton pickers and field workers in pursuit <strong>of</strong> a better quality<br />
<strong>of</strong> life. She managed <strong>the</strong> students’ different learning styles <strong>by</strong> separating <strong>the</strong>m<br />
into groups to provide each student with <strong>the</strong> necessary attention needed for <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
academic growth and development. This was before Title I and o<strong>the</strong>r learning<br />
assistance programs were made available to schools. Her students speak highly<br />
<strong>of</strong> her as a teacher and <strong>the</strong> positive influence she had on <strong>the</strong>ir lives.<br />
Even though she completed her 30-year career in education as a librarian at<br />
Eastside Elementary School, she spent most <strong>of</strong> her career teaching during <strong>the</strong> era <strong>of</strong><br />
segregation when she was paid less than her White peers with similar experience<br />
and credentials simply because <strong>of</strong> her race. She retired in 1984. Teaching was her<br />
pr<strong>of</strong>ession, and building and maintaining a healthy community was her vocation.<br />
As a retiree, she began ano<strong>the</strong>r career working with <strong>the</strong> <strong>Hernando</strong> <strong>County</strong> Sheriff's Office<br />
manning <strong>the</strong> South Brooksville Substation and coordinating a community watch initiative. She was<br />
admired, respected, and received praise and awards in appreciation for her 15 years <strong>of</strong> service with <strong>the</strong> department. She<br />
was actively involved with <strong>the</strong> NAACP, a founding member <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Black</strong> Educators’ <strong>Caucus</strong>, <strong>Inc</strong>., <strong>of</strong> <strong>Hernando</strong> <strong>County</strong>, <strong>the</strong><br />
South Brooksville Revitalization Task Force, and Bethlehem Progressive Baptist Church. She was a member <strong>of</strong> Moton High<br />
School Reunion 50th Anniversary Celebration 1939-1989’s Steering, Alumni, and Finance Committees. Sarah represented<br />
<strong>the</strong> best <strong>of</strong> what it means to be a woman, human and African American.<br />
Sarah was a 2003 recipient <strong>of</strong> Pasco-<strong>Hernando</strong> State College’s Center <strong>of</strong> Excellence Drum Major for Justice Award. She will<br />
always be remembered as Mrs. Davis. Her family sponsored a plaque that is mounted on <strong>the</strong> <strong>of</strong>fice wall at Mid-Florida<br />
Community Services Head Start, formerly Moton High School on School Street and <strong>the</strong> county also renamed a street, Sarah<br />
F. Davis Street in remembrance <strong>of</strong> her.<br />
She was married to Mack Davis, Jr., for 58 years, and she loved her family. She was <strong>the</strong> eighth <strong>of</strong> ten children born to Rosa<br />
Senda and Captain Phelix Fletcher. She was a lifelong resident <strong>of</strong> Brooksville. Mrs. Davis is survived <strong>by</strong> her son, Dr. Mack<br />
Davis, III, Ph.D.; daughter, Angela Collins.<br />
Sponsors: Dr. Mack Davis, III, Ph.D. and Angela Collins<br />
"You don't make progress <strong>by</strong> standing on <strong>the</strong> sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make<br />
progress <strong>by</strong> implementing ideas.” – Shirley Chisholm