By THT New Voices Desk
“A child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth.”
African proverb
From The Harlem Times: Long before he made history as Pennsylvania’s first Black lieutenant governor, Austin Davis was a high school student in McKeesport, a steel town outside Pittsburgh, when gunfire came to his own block. He did not look away. He went to his first city council meeting, started a youth violence prevention program at his school, and joined the mayor’s youth advisory council. This month, voters returned him for a second term alongside Governor Josh Shapiro.
The proverb above is a warning, but it is also a promise: embrace young people, and they will build the village rather than burn it. That is the thread running through everything Lieutenant Governor Davis told us, from child care to afterschool programs to the theaters and Main Streets that hold a community’s memory. For our New Voices series, The Harlem Times asked him five questions. His answers follow in full.
The Harlem Times: You made history as Pennsylvania’s first Black lieutenant governor, and voters have now returned you for a second term. What did that first term teach you?
Lt. Gov. Davis: During my first year as Lieutenant Governor, I got to become a father and that experience has shaped me in so many ways. I’ve seen firsthand how important affordable child care is for working parents. My wife, Second Lady Blayre Holmes Davis, is an incredible mother, and she has been a tremendous advocate for maternal health and women’s equality in the workplace. Every day I wake up wanting to make Pennsylvania a better place for my daughter and all of our kids.
The Harlem Times: You come from McKeesport, a working-class town outside Pittsburgh. What do towns like yours have in common with Harlem and other Black communities across America?
Lt. Gov. Davis: McKeesport is an aging steel town, and growing up there I saw what happens when businesses and government disinvest from a community. That’s why I’m so passionate about community revitalization. Earlier this year I got to see how investments from the Shapiro-Davis Administration have helped to restore and reopen the New Granada Theater, an iconic landmark in the Hill District, which has been the hub of Pittsburgh’s Black community. In our second term, we’re going to continue to invest in places like the Mon Valley and the Hill District because our historic downtowns and Main Streets aren’t just windows into our past — they’re engines for our economic future.
The Harlem Times: You have championed universal school breakfast and a working families tax credit. What is next for Pennsylvania’s children and working families?
Lt. Gov. Davis: Some of our top priorities for our second term — when we will have a Democratic trifecta for the first time since the 1990s — are raising the state’s minimum wage, funding public transit and building more housing and making it more affordable. I’m going to continue focusing on child care, afterschool programs and community safety.
The Harlem Times: Gun violence takes a heavy toll in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. What is working, and what still needs to be done?
Lt. Gov. Davis: In addition to serving as Lieutenant Governor, I also lead the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, which has provided more than $1 billion in funding to make our communities and schools safer over the past four years. Under the Shapiro-Davis Administration, we’ve taken a comprehensive approach to reducing gun violence, by supporting law enforcement, but also investing in community-based efforts to prevent violence, a new afterschool initiative, mental health and school safety programs. That approach is working — homicide rates in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia were the lowest they’ve been in decades last year.
But even one life lost to gun violence is one too many. That’s why we’re continuing to invest, launching a new grant program to help local police departments solve violent crimes and close more cases. I’m also hopeful that, with our new Democratic trifecta, we can pass common-sense gun safety legislation to keep firearms out of the hands of dangerous criminals.
Community safety will continue to be a top priority for the Shapiro-Davis Administration in our second term.
The Harlem Times: What would you say to young people in Harlem who want to enter public service?
Lt. Gov. Davis: I started my journey to public service when I was in high school, when there was a shooting on my block. That experience drove me to attend my first city council meeting, then to start a youth violence prevention program at my school and lead a youth advisory council with the McKeesport mayor. My message to young people is this — your voices matter, so speak up and organize in your community to make positive change.
From The Harlem Times: A council meeting, a school program, a seat at the table. None of it required permission, only the decision to show up. For the young New Yorker reading this who has seen what Austin Davis saw, the path he describes starts at the next community board meeting on your block.
New Voices profiles the leaders shaping life for New Yorkers and the Harlems of the world. Photos courtesy of the Office of the Lieutenant Governor. Share this story and tag us @HarlemTimesNews on X and @theharlemtimes on Instagram.