Frank Davis Oral History Interview, 2024

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Summary

Creator:
Davis, Frank
Abstract:
After service in the United States Air Force, Frank Davis pursued a BS in electrical engineering at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, North Carolina. He then worked at IBM and received a MS in Electrical Engineering from North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina. Davis co-founded the Durham Striders Youth Association (DSYA) in 1977 with Herman Graham and Ralph Bullock. Dr. Brenda Armstrong became involved with the DSYA, meeting Davis through her godfather, Russell Blunt. Armstrong, Professor of Pediatrics, Associate Dean of Admissions for the Duke University School of Medicine, and, among other roles, Vice President of the DSYA, and Davis, Co-Founder of the DSYA, worked together for 37 years. This collection contains 1 oral history interview conducted on February 18, 2024 by Ava Meigs as part of the Bass Connections Agents of Change Oral History Project. In the interview, Davis explores the mission and work of the DSYA; Armstrong's extensive involvement with the DSYA as a coach, team physician, board member, and fundraiser; notable alumni of the DSYA; and the organization's relationship with Duke. This interview primarily focuses on Armstrong as a pivotal figure in the founding and work of the DSYA. The themes of this interview include community activism, academic and athletic excellence, physical health, and expanding access to health care.
Extent:
1 interview (1 transcript) and 919 MB
Collection ID:
OH.DAVISF

Background

Scope and content:

Includes 1 oral history interview with Frank Davis conducted on February 18, 2024 by Ava Meigs as part of the Bass Connections Agents of Change Oral History Project.

In the February 18, 2024 interview, Davis explores the mission and work of the Durham Youth Striders Association (DYSA); Dr. Brenda Armstrong's extensive involvement with the DYSA as a coach, team physician, board member, and fundraiser; notable alumni of the DYSA; and the organization's relationship with Duke. This interview primarily focuses on Armstrong as a pivotal figure in the founding and work of the DYSA. The themes of this interview include community activism, academic and athletic excellence, physical health, and expanding access to health care.

Davis was selected to interview in order to highlight Armstrong's involvement with the DSYA as an example of her extensive community involvement and community activism. Armstrong, Professor of Pediatrics, Associate Dean of Admissions for the Duke University School of Medicine, and, among other roles, Vice President of the DSYA, and Davis, Co-Founder of the DSYA, worked together for 37 years.

Biographical / historical:

Frank Davis
After service in the United States Air Force, Frank Davis pursued a BS in electrical engineering at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, North Carolina. He then worked at IBM and received a MS in Electrical Engineering from North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina. Davis co-founded the Durham Striders Youth Association (DSYA) in 1977 with Herman Graham and Ralph Bullock. Dr. Brenda Armstrong became involved with the DSYA, meeting Davis through her godfather, Russell Blunt. They worked closely together at the DSYA for 37 years.

Dr. Brenda Armstrong
Dr. Brenda Armstrong was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, on January 19, 1949. From a young age, Armstrong understood the importance of racial equity in medicine. Denied access to the segregated hospital in Rocky Mount, Armstrong's mother was forced to deliver her final pregnancy at home, where the baby, Armstrong's younger brother, sustained a cerebral hemorrhage that rendered him physically disabled. Armstrong cites these early experiences as the reason why she became a physician and dedicated her life to the pursuit of health equity.

Armstrong enrolled as an undergraduate student at Duke University in 1966. During this time, Armstrong helped establish the Afro-American Society, an organization dedicated to advocating for racial equity and fostering community among Black students at Duke. Through the Afro-American Society, Armstrong also played a pivotal role in the Allen Building Takeover, an event staged to force university action toward racial justice.

After graduating from Duke, Armstrong attended the St. Louis University School of Medicine, specializing in pediatric cardiology. In 1979, Armstrong returned to Duke as a Professor in the Department of Pediatrics. In 1996, she became Associate Dean of Admissions for the School of Medicine, where she recruited some of the most diverse classes in the history of the School of Medicine. Contrary to the beliefs of some critics of these initiatives, Armstrong "wasn't bringing them [recruited medical students] in just because they were Black. She was bringing them in because they could handle it." Her outreach diversified the School of Medicine and, by extension, the practice and profession of medicine.

Outside of her work as a physician and administrator, Armstrong was heavily involved with several community organizations, perhaps most notably the Durham Striders Youth Association (DSYA). Among Armstrong's many roles within the DSYA, she served as Vice President, Board Member, Assistant Head Coach, Team Physician, Chaperone Coordinator, Newsletter Editor, and Meet Manager/Facilities Coordinator. She worked with the DSYA for 37 years, tirelessly nurturing students' physical health and academic success. As an illustrative example, Armstrong would recruit volunteers from the Duke University School of Medicine to administer free physicals to DSYA athletes. She also "kept a record on each kid, the whole thing [and]...tracked it all the way through the season" to ensure that student athletes' physical health and wellbeing were improving.

Armstrong died on October 7, 2018.

Acquisition information:
Accession A2024.060 (transferred by Rebecca Williams, May 2024)
Processing information:

Processed by Lucy Waldrop: September 2024

Arrangement:
Organized into the following series: Interview, February 18, 2024.
Rules or conventions:
DACS

Contents

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Terms of access:

Copyright for Official University records is held by Duke University; all other copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Frank Davis Oral History Interview, Duke University Medical Center Archives.