The Birmingham Times
J. Mason Davis, a trailblazing attorney whose legal work helped dismantle segregation in Alabama and whose leadership shaped generations of lawyers and community advocates, has died. He was 90. Davis was widely respected for both his courtroom achievements and his enduring commitment to service.
Mason Davis, Jr. was born in Birmingham, Alabama, on July 30, 1935, the son of J. Mason Davis and Madeliene Harris Davis. He began his education at Tuggle School and A. H. Parker High School. He went on to attend Talladega College and the University at Buffalo School of Law before returning home to establish his own law practice in 1959. From the start, he dedicated his career to civil rights law, taking on cases that placed him at the center of the struggle for racial equality in the South.
Among his most notable work was his representation of students involved in the Huntsville lunch counter sit-ins of 1961 and 1962. These cases drew national attention and became pivotal moments in the broader movement to end segregation. Through these and other efforts, Davis played a vital role in advancing desegregation across Alabama.
Davis’s influence extended far beyond the courtroom. In 1963, he served as one of 23 Black members of Birmingham’s Community Affairs Committee, a group formed to help ease racial tensions during one of the city’s most turbulent periods. Over the decades, he continued to lead in both legal and civic arenas, embodying a steady commitment to progress and reconciliation.
In 1984, Davis made history as the first African American president of the Birmingham Bar Association. He also broke barriers in academia as the first minority adjunct professor at the University of Alabama School of Law, where he taught from 1972 to 1997, mentoring and inspiring countless future attorneys.
His distinguished legal career included his tenure at Sirote & Permutt, now known as Dentons Sirote, where he became a partner and later a shareholder. Beyond the legal profession, Davis served as chair of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce from 2000 to 2001 and led the United Way of Central Alabama from 2002 to 2003, reflecting his deep investment in community advancement.
Though he received numerous professional honors, including a Lifetime Achievement Award in Human and Civil Rights from the NAACP in 2013 and induction into the Birmingham Business Hall of Fame in 2016, Davis often expressed that his greatest pride came from supporting health and human services initiatives and creating opportunities for minorities.
In 2019, the United Way of Central Alabama established the J. Mason Davis Leadership Society in his honor, recognizing his legacy of philanthropy, volunteerism and advocacy, and inspiring others to follow in his footsteps. In 2022, he was further honored by Regions Bank for his lasting contributions to the community.
Throughout his life, Davis remained a steadfast advocate for justice, equality and opportunity. A celebrated attorney, Civil Rights activist and mentor, he leaves behind a legacy defined not only by legal victories but by the lives he influenced and the doors he helped open.
His impact on Birmingham and on the ongoing pursuit of Civil Rights in America will endure for generations.
