Rev. Frederick A. Davie

For today’s segment on Black Church History, I’d like to introduce you to the Rev. Frederick A Davie.

Rev. Davie is an ordained Presbyterian Minister currently serving as the Senior Strategic Advisor to the President of Union Theological Seminary, where he previously worked as Vice President for over a decade. His resume as a prophetic voice is impressive all around, with a career focused on addressing police reform, climate change, and LGBTQ+ access to resources.

He grew up just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina at a time that black schools were being closed and black students sent to white schools. He attended Greensboro College, where he was the first black student to be elected Student body vice-president, and later student body president. While he thought he wanted to be a physician’s assistant, he was inspired by courses in Hebrew Bible and the Prophets and decided to pursue a career in ministry. He attended seminary at Yale Divinity School, where he was the president of Yale Black Seminarians.

Rev. Davie came out in 1986, and worked for the New York Presbytery where he organized a gay and lesbian caucus in the church. He later took a position on the New Your City Board of Education where he helped pass the approval of a curriculum that included teaching books with same sex couples in schools, and a comprehensive HIV task force to make condoms available in high schools.

Rev. Davie has served in various political roles including advising Mayor de Blasio on police brutality, supporting Vice President Al Gore’s climate change initiatives, and most prominently, serving on President Barack Obama’s transition team. As a member of the White House Council under President Obama, he advocated for the inclusion of non-traditional families and marginalized populations in policy formation and resource allocation, especially as related to faith based organizations.

Rev. Davie’s husband, Michael Adams, is the CEO of SAGE USA, another LGBTQ advocacy group that fights for the rights and protections of queer senior citizens.

While Rev. Davie has frequently written and spoken on the subject of being born “black, poor and gay,” and he says, “My faith made it possible to come out and to lead a mostly healthy and productive life. God’s love as expressed in the love and acceptance of my family and friends has made all the difference.”