Actor, director and activist Ossie Davis

By JANE BELZ
Staff Writer

Actor, writer, director and civil rights activist Ossie Davis has a new mission, speaking for those who don't have food, shelter or medical attention.

Davis said he finds himself increasingly worried about the have-nots being left behind by the ones who have most of the wealth, both in this country and around the world."There are countries that don't have access to what we throw away every day. Already there are people who do not have access to the basic necessities in life. There are many in Africa working for less than $2 per day."

Speaking at the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Luncheon, Davis said the events of Sept. 11 underscore just how desperate the situation is becoming. "Someone hated us and was willing to make that point. He became the spokesperson for the have-nots of the world. The time is coming when the have-nots will lose all faith and patience," he warned. "We need to stitch together the chasm that separates the have and have-nots."

Davis has dedicated the better part of his 84 years both to the arts and civil rights. He won a Tony award for his play "Purlie Victorious" and has directed and starred in numerous movies and plays in his long career.

He has now turned his attention to writing and lecturing. He and his wife of over 50 years, Ruby Dee, wrote a book in 1999 called 'In This Life Together." He recently completed work on his first novel about young people in the civil rights movement called "Just Like Martin." Davis is in a position to know because he was an early supporter of Martin Luther King Jr. and later eulogized both King and Malcolm X at their funerals.

Davis said universities are particularly set up to deal with and help solve the problems of the world. "Universities can put together the best minds in the academic world," he said. "We have the power and technology to feed every hungry mouth. But we lack the will to make the bread available to those who are hungry.

"Humans are weak and feeble but in groups we find columns of strength we didn't know we had," said Davis. "It wouldn't bother me a bit to hear the start of the movement began at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida."