Inventory to the Percy Lavon Julian Family Papers

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Percy Lavon Julian Family Papers
Series III: Folder 10
Julian Memorial Lecture: Willis H. "Bing" Davis
March 20, 1986

     "The artist wishes to acknowledge to the world that for one fleeting moment in history of mankind he exists- unique, like no other. His art is his window to the world, his gift, his voice."  W.H.D.

     In 1937 the parents of "Bing" Davis, sharecroppers in Spartanburg, S.C., decided to move to Ohio. They came to East Dayton. Eventually the full responsibility of rearing six children fell upon Mrs. Davis, and she often worked at two full-time jobs to keep her family together. It is to her that Bing attributes the high goals that have guided his life. His artistic gift surfaced early. He cam remember at the age of six he was busy pretending to be an "artist" by drawing on the white cardboard from laundered shirts that his mother salvaged for him from the wastebaskets of hotels where she worked as a maid.

     In his keynote address "Reaching High - Reaching Back," presented at the DePauw University Black Cultural Weekend last February Bing credited DePauw for its great and meaningful impact upon his life, as he testified that "so much of my life is interwoven with DePauw University." He would also say: The Black community of Greencastle... has historically provided... for the survival of Black students at DePauw sine its inception." He would cite the loving care and encouragement of the families of Duffy Hughs , Oscar Chapman, and Louis Williams. On many a wintry Sunday, he reminisced, "footprints in the snow" could be seen going down through the Dells by Hogate Hall on to Maple Street to the Black community. It was they who "nourished" and "nurtured" them, who held them to the "dream." Stories of the great Back Julian family sustained them. "They were our survival," he says in moving tribute.

     Bing's first contact with DePauw University came when he was a junior high school student, by then over six feet tall. Dean Dooley and Paul Wagoner, DePauw graduates and coaches in the Dayton School System, arranged for him to attend the Dayton predominately white high school. It was Coach Dooley who brought Bing to look over DePauw. On Coach Dooley's insistence Bing returned to high school to graduate and then to be admitted to DePauw. A major in art, he was also a member of DePauw's champion basketball conference team in 1956-57. His college years meant striving, sometime discouragement , but finally graduation in 1959. For Bing there would be no "Door of No Return." His life's work and commitment were already charted.

     By 1967 he had earned the Master of Education degree from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. In 1971 he returned to DePauw as Assistant Professor of art and for two years served as the Coordinator of Black Studies. It was during this tenure at DePauw that he received grants from The National Endowment for the Humanities and the U.S. Office of Education which would enable him to travel in Africa. From these he has achieved wide recognition as an expert on African-American art.

     In 1978 he was called to Central State University at Wilberforce, Ohio, as the Director of the Paul Robeson Cultural and Performing Arts Center and chairperson of the Art Department. He continues in this position. His honors and award are too numerous to record here. Since 1968 he has lectured and served as a visiting artist at over one hundred schools and institutions. The author of numerous publications, he has had more that fifty group exhibitions and thirty-five solo exhibitions. Bing is presently a member of the DePauw's Board of Visitors. He has works in public, private, and corporate collection in the United States and abroad, and has achieved great prominence as a Black artist.

     An artist of great skill and vision, he presents a visual feast, rich in African tradition and heritage. He chooses a variety of media. Besides being motivated by environmental influences in Western society, African art is also an integral force in Davis' work as he attempts to synthesize the traditional African approach with the contemporary.  He is both a prolific artist and a humanist - qualities which enrich his artistic contribution. A loving husband and father, he embraces in all its aspects the family of mankind. "When art or life is practiced at its highest level, it is difficult to separate one from the other."

     Willis "Bing" Davis, beloved son of DePauw University, comes "home" to share with us his gift, his wisdom, and his great love of all things beautiful. We welcome him with pride as he joins the ranks of DePauw University's illustrious alumni.