Chuck "Baba" Davis
Fourth Ward native Charles R. Davis was a force of nature whose rhythmic heartbeat bridged the distance between the African continent and the American South. Davis was born on Jamaica St. and graduated from Ligon High School in 1954 and originally trained as a naval medical corpsman but eventually traded his nursing scrubs for flowing African robes, declaring that while nursing was the "cure," dance was the "prevention." As the visionary founder of DanceAfrica and the Durham-based African American Dance Ensemble, he transformed the stage into a sacred space using traditional West African movement to combat racism and foster community healing. A literal and figurative giant, he earned the nickname of “Baba” the African word for father and was recognized as one of America's "100 Irreplaceable Dance Treasures," yet he remained a man of the people, known for his all-encompassing hugs and his universal mantra, "Peace, love, and respect for everybody."
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