Nehemiah Davis improved Fort Worth

The Rev. Nehemiah Davis preached more than the gospel.

For 53 years as pastor of Mount Pisgah Baptist Church, including one term as a school board trustee, he preached leadership, faith, patience in a time of rapid change and hope for a future of justice and redemption. Davis died March 1. He was 91.

Davis came to Dallas from a childhood on a subsistence farm near Centerville. He moved to Fort Worth in December 1963, taking over one of the city’s largest Missionary Baptist churches in the heartbreaking days after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

In the 1960s civil rights era and in 1970s debates over school busing and single-member districts, he chose the path of conservative leadership. He was a peacemaker and negotiator while others protested.

In a 1984 interview, Davis said: “It’s a mistake to say marching and militancy are the only way. People who create excessive conflict attract a lot of attention, but it’s difficult to measure what they lose.”

Yet it was Davis who helped bring faith-based community organizing to Fort Worth, lining up ministers and churches to advocate on behalf of the poor and to push city leaders for better schools, streets and services in every neighborhood.

His leadership made all of Fort Worth better.

This story was originally published March 9, 2017 at 4:52 PM with the headline "Nehemiah Davis improved Fort Worth."