ISSUES #22: MAY 2016
BLACK INNOVATORS
JULY 2015
Pastor Walter Davis and wife Jeanne,
Executive Directors of RL Davis Youth Academy
Luke 20:17 “The stone that the builder rejected became the cornerstone”
Walter Davis is many things. He is pastor of Rejected Stone Christian Fellowship Church in Los Angeles, he is the founder and Executive Director of the R.L. Davis Youth Academy in South Central Los Angeles, he is a funeral director, he is an entrepreneur and a beacon of light to many families in his community. Walter is in the process of creating a legacy of good works. The R.L. Davis Youth Academy is the focus of this interview but Walter’s body of work is equally impressive. Since its inception in 2004, Rejected Stone Christian Fellowship, Inc., a 501 (c)(3) private, non-profit organization, has provided early intervention and prevention services through the RL Davis Youth Academy. The academy has provided services to 50-70 at-risk youth annually. Their work demonstrates that together, youth and parents are a powerful force in improving and making a real change in their community. I’m pleased to introduce Walter to the Positive Black Images family.
PBI: I was pointed in your direction by someone from the community in Los Angeles who wanted to acknowledge the great work you and your team are doing in south central neighborhoods. I know you’re involved in a number of ways in the community. Can you give me a quick synopsis of what you do?
WD: Well, there are many roles I play in the community. I’m the pastor of Rejected Stone Fellowship Church here in L.A., I’m also the owner and funeral director of All Faiths Funeral Home in Watts, an industry I’ve worked in for the past 32 years, my wife and I are Executive Directors of the R.L. Davis Youth Academy (through our church) and I’m active in the community as an entrepreneur and activist of sorts.
PBI: That is quite a few hats to wear. I can’t imagine where you’d started.
WD: Well, to go all the way back to the beginning, I was born in Marshall, TX and my family moved to California in the 60s and we have been part of the south central community ever since. I attended college back in Texas at East Texas Baptist University in ’79 and became a minister. I opened my funeral home, by the grace of God, in 1987 after bible college as I had worked at funeral homes in the past. The funeral home was located right in the heart of the ‘hood on 11th and Central in Watts. Through working in the area, we started a ministry for the people in the community, ministering mainly to folks that had challenges or were on the streets. As the ministry developed we started to get people that wanted to be involved. So we grew and more people were drawn to the work we were doing.
PBI: Tell me about the R.L. Davis name for the youth academy. I understand this is in honor of your dad?
WD: Yes. My dad, Ray L. Davis, was really a great guy. He worked for Los Angeles County for 33 years as a plant manager. His was a dedicated to our family our church and our community. He was really loving and he tried to inspire kids in our community through love and support. He was, of course, a southern guy and friend to everyone. He wanted to see the best in everybody. Even kids in the community that got into trouble. He preached dignity and would always say “It’s not where you live but HOW you live. You live in the ghetto but the ghetto doesn’t live in you.” A lot men and women attribute their success, in part, to knowing him. In tribute to him, we named our youth program the R.L. Davis Youth Academy.
PBI: So through him you learned to set the example yourself, I see.
WD: I did. But that’s not to say that I’m without fault. I’ve lived to overcome issues of my own, actually. In the 80s I’d had some challenges with drug use and alcohol. During this time, I held a job and was functional within my addiction but felt I was imprisoned right out in the open. I felt that I was trapped in a part of L.A. that I was never getting out of. I started to ponder the advantages of being able to get out of the community. Not necessarily moving out of the community but being able to regularly go outside of the community. To see that there were possibilities and opportunities beyond the immediate surroundings. For some kids in inner city communities, their neighborhood or city is all they’ll ever see in their formative years. Limited knowledge can translate to believing you have limited options.
PBI: Ahhh.. so that’s how the concept of the annual trip became a part of the R.L. Davis Youth Academy philosophy.
WD: Yes, we believe in providing educational trips for kids in our program. Traveling helps to expand their horizon to see options outside of the community.
PBI: I agree. But, when you guys aren’t traveling, what types of interaction does the academy have with kids and families in the community?
WD: We mentor youth and provide instruction in music, dance and drama. Our purpose is to build self-esteem, character and the ability to work with others. We aim to inspire leadership, prevent substance abuse, strengthen the family and decrease juvenile crime. Our ultimate goal is to develop productive, well-rounded citizens.
How do you go about choosing kids or families to engage?
WD: Through community outreach and through functions we host in the community. We also have relationships with schools and students through academy members or church family. For example, one of our church members works at Inglewood High and works with a lot of kids. Through that exposure they may be aware of at-risk kids that would benefit from a program like R.L. Davis. My wife holds a Masters in Social Work and also works for the L.A. Unified School District so she brings insight from that vantage point to the table. Other church members work for community organizations that deal with homelessness and such so we have several levels of visibility into the community at large.
Another strategy is that we also recruit troubled parents through women’s treatment centers or shelters. We encourage them to get involved with us and bring their kids. We find that troubled parents typically translate to troubled kids.
Parents in the community are also scouts for us and let us know about kids that have challenges and put us in the loop. A few times a year we host an entrepreneurial workshop where we invite business owners to speak to kids at the academy and give them insight into their experiences and the kids’ own potential. We have pizza and such and the kids get to learn to dream and plan without limits. I liken our workshops to the NBA draft of the NFL draft. Through providing workshops and interacting in the community, we let people know what we are about and what services are available through us. As a matter of fact, our next entrepreneurial workshop will be September 19th.
PBI: In these modern times, at-risk kids are sometimes a high target for predators. How do you guys protect kids in the academy that could be taken advantage of? No offense, but that question can’t go unasked these days.
WD: I completely agree and I’m actually glad you brought it up. With my wife being a licensed clinical psychologist she helps us keep those types of issues on our radar. Safeguards are established and in place. Jeanne is our bulldog in that area. We put policies in place and we fully vet people that want to be involved in the program. In that regard, even at church or in Sunday school. Additionally, all of our trips entail multiple chaperones that work in teams of at least two. I’m lucky to have a wife that specializes in this area.
PBI: Yes, I can see that your wife’s experience and education are excellent resources for an organization like yours.
WD: She is an invaluable resource. Our whole team brings much to the table, actually. But yes, Jeanne has a way of connecting with people and evaluating individual situations. She helps develop programs with the kids and also helps kids in our program get additional help that may be outside the scope of what we do. For instance, special needs, or other issues that are not being addressed in the home or in school. We help assess kids and she ensures we are part of the process of raising kids in our community.
What are some of the challenges you see with working with at-risk kids or families?
WD: I find it’s harder to connect with them sometimes. At times they’ve seen so much at such a young age that they are jaded to the possibility of someone being in their corner. They think we don’t have anything to offer or that we can’t relate to what they are going through. Also we’re competing for their attention with every other thing that’s in their lives... be it the streets, gangs, drugs or even just video games. Also, when they see their parents doing negative or destructive behavior, it’s another barrier to get beyond. Their foundation for acting and thinking independently is a little weaker. Their interest or understanding of what options are available to them outside of their immediate community is stunted. BUT... we’ve found that with the annual trips, EVERYBODY wants to go. The trips help us reach them and open their eyes to see what they can accomplish.
PBI: Back to the annual educational trips you guys organize. What would you say the impact is on young lives?
WD: !’ve seen that their experiences develop confidence in who they are and some kids start to open up and evolve from their time with us. It’s big to me for them to know that there truly is a world outside the community to travel to and you don’t have to be a millionaire to do it. And by the way, we’ve operated our program for 12 years without grants or any subsidies. We raise all our money from community fundraisers, donations or garage sales independently.
Over the years we’ve gone to Atlanta, to Washington, D.C. and the White House, the Grand Canyon, to Sacramento and San Francisco, CA, Seattle, to Sea World in San Diego, to baseball games and some great tourist sites that go with each location. Also, we always make a point to visit universities in each city; we’ve visited Howard, Morehouse, Spellman, Morris Brown, and San Francisco State to name a few.
In 2012 we took 80 kids on a Mexican cruise. One of our future goals is to go to New York. It’s been elusive since the costs are very high but we keep it on the radar as a place to take the kids. Hawaii also.
In early July we are taking the kids camping in Yosemite. We’ve concluded our fundraising for our summer trip and it’s time to get and have some fun. The experience is great and kids give their input as to where our next trips will go. The whole process is a great part of positive development in the kids. We’ve seen kids really come into their own from their involvement with the youth academy. We have kids that are going off to college and plenty of others who now have the mindset to look to college.
It’s great to see Pastor Davis and the R.L. Davis Youth Academy to take the initiative to make a difference in the lives of the kids in their community. We can all take a lesson from their philosophy and do something positive for the kids in our local communities.
V. Ray
#positiveblack
#RiseShineRepeat
CONTACT POINTS:
Rejected Stone Christian Fellowship Church,
4700 Avalon Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90011
PHONE: 323.235.4319
ONLINE: www.rejectedstone.us/
R. L. Davis Youth Academy
4700 Avalon Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90011
PHONE: 323.235.4319
ONLINE: http://rldavisacademy.com/about-us.html
EMAIL: rldavisyouthacademy@yahoo.com
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