The Dr. Etheldra S. Davis Scholarship Foundation is an Alaskan non-profit dedicated to supporting and uplifting youth and young adults in the Anchorage area in their pursuit of furthering their education, regardless of background. This foundation and scholarship fund are in honor of this incredibly influential community leader and African American trailblazer.
Born May 11, 1931 in Marianna, Arkansas
She was the 5th of 8 children (6 boys, 2 girls); born to parents Luther and F. Beatrice Sampson. Both of her parents were school teachers in Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana.
The family relocated to southern California in the 1940's
Etheldra attended elementary school in Los Angeles (Watts) and graduated from Jordan High School in 1949.
She obtained her Associate of Arts degree from LA City College in 1951; and Bachelors Degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, and began teaching in the Los Angeles school district.
In 1957, Etheldra visited her two older brothers Hershey and Luther Sampson, both of whom came to Anchorage, Alaska to work and started successful businesses in the painting and construction fields.
After visiting her brothers, she decided to transfer her teaching credentials from Los Angeles (Watts) schools to the Anchorage, Alaska school system in the summer of 1958.
Upon relocating, she applied and was hired as the first African American teacher hired by the Anchorage School District (on contract) in 1959.
She went on to teach at local Anchorage elementary schools: Airport Heights, Government Hill, Mt. View and Denali Elementary.
She met and married podiatrist, Dr. Lawrence S. Jordan in 1961
They welcomed their only daughter (Andrea) in 1962.
She continued her education and obtained her Masters Degree in Education from the University of Alaska (Fairbanks) in 1965.
In 1967 she was promoted to Assistant Principal at Willow Crest Elementary School
In 1969, with community support, she was hired as the first African American Principal hired by the Anchorage School District of Fairview Elementary, and held that position until she was transferred to newly built Ptarmigan Elementary School.
She married her husband Joseph M. Davis, also an educator in the Anchorage School district, in 1970.
In 1975, she obtained her Doctorate in Education from Newport University in Riverside, CA.
Dr. Davis went on to become principal on Ft. Richardson at John F. Kennedy Elementary school where she worked until her retirement from the Anchorage School District in 1980.
Dr. Davis was very involved with the community and is a lifetime member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (AKA); National Crime Prevention Specialists, NAACP, National Education Association, and many other community organizations.
A lifelong educator, Dr. Davis worked many years with the youth in numerous programs, including the United League of Girls, Coalition to Prevent Shoplifting, NAACP Youth Council/ACT-SO youth programs and often took groups of youth on trips out of state.
Dr. Davis passed away in November 2020 due to complications from Covid19.
She was a woman who broke barriers for people of color, she cared about her community, she passed on the torch for us to continue getting in “good trouble”, and left behind an inspiring legacy.
In September 2021, the Anchorage School Board voted unanimously to re-name Fairview Elementary School in honor of Dr. Davis.
