Never in My Wildest Dreams: A Black Woman’s Life in Journalism Book

Chapter 1: Coming of Age

Growing up in Louisiana, drifting from household to household, Belva moves with her family to the East Bay, where her mother abandons the family. Left with a household of adult men, Belva is sexually molested. She marries early but not happily.

Chapter 2:  A Love Affair with Words

Belva works as a stringer for Jet magazine, the largest black news weekly, and moves on to black newspapers in what is still a racially segregated media market. A bitter divorce causes her to flee with her two children. A white AP foreign correspondent, fired for his drinking, shows her the ropes of the newspaper business. Working for the Bay Area Independent, she interviews Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X.

Chapter 3: Breaking Barriers

Belva branches out to radio, working for two black stations (KSAN and KDIA), where a chance encounter with James Brown almost ends her budding career. In 1963, she marries Bill Moore, a news photographer who cares for her children and supports her career aspirations.

Chapter 4: Political Baptism

Belva covers the 1964 Republican National Convention at the Cow Palace, where delegates throw garbage and shout racist epithets at her and a black colleague. 

Chapter 5: Learning Objectivity

Shifting to KPIX, where she becomes the first black female on television west of the Mississippi, Belva must learn new journalism standards. She meets Dr. King and Robert Kennedy and is welcomed into the home of Governor Ronald Reagan. She also interviews Stanford physicist William Shockley, who believes that black people are less capable intellectually than whites. 

Chapter 6: Stepping into the Fire

Belva covers the student demonstrations at Berkeley, interviewing Joan Baez, Mario Savio, and Bettina Aptheker.

Chapter 7: Developing a Voice

As a news anchor, Belva fights to air a no-holds-barred interview with Eldridge Cleaver as well as stories on motherhood and working women. Making her points without making enemies in a competitive and often contentious newsroom, Belva continues her rise through the industry. 

Chapter 8:  Making a Name for Myself

By 1971, Belva is a recognized face and voice. She interviews Bob Wells, a San Quentin prisoner confined for 45 years after an initial conviction for receiving stolen property.  When the story goes national, she receives her first Emmy. Wells is eventually paroled, but Belva continues to report on prison conditions, organizes concerts at San Quentin, and attracts James Brown and B.B. King to perform there.

Chapter 9: Cuba on My Mind

Accompanying a delegation led by Congressman Ron Dellums, Davis interviews Fidel Castro in Cuba. Flustered when she finally meets Castro, she begins to cry. Castro tells Belva not to worry, that their interview will be better than the one he gave Barbara Walters. Belva receives two more Emmys. 

Chapter 10: Daughters in Jeopardy

After heiress Patty Hearst is kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army, a police officer informs Belva that her own daughters may be kidnapped in retaliation for the Hearst abduction. The family moves and receives police protection. 

Chapter 11:  A Presidential Affair

When President Ford visits San Francisco, he shakes the hand of every reporter lining up to meet him—every reporter, that is, except Davis, the only African-American and woman in the room.  Realizing his mistake, Ford returns to visit with Belva. Walking outside, Ford narrowly misses a bullet fired by Sara Jane Moore. The reception reminds Davis and her colleagues that the smallest gesture can be interpreted as a racial slight and opens the door to a discussion of race.

Chapter 12: Unsuspecting Target

People’s Temple leader Jim Jones tries unsuccessfully to befriend Davis, who has joined KQED as a news anchor, before a tax-evasion probe causes him to flee to Guyana with hundreds of followers. When Congressman Leo Ryan visits, he and others are killed before they can board their plane to leave. Jones and more than 900 followers then commit suicide. Later, Belva learns that her housekeeper was a People’s Temple security officer assigned to report on her. 

Chapter 13: Murdering Over Differences

Belva’s daughter Darolyn befriends the daughter of San Francisco mayor George Moscone and begins working at City Hall. Shortly after the Jonestown nightmare, Darolyn calls her mother to report that Moscone has been shot. While Belva is rushing to City Hall, Bill arrives to shoot some of his most famous footage. Belva makes sure Darolyn is all right before going to work as a reporter. Her program that night for KQED wins the Best Newscast award from PBS.

Chapter 14: Underreported Stories

After the U.S. embassies are bombed by Al Qaeda in Kenya and Tanzania, Belva travels to Africa with a physician friend to deliver much-needed medical supplies. In Kenya, she and the crew face down family members of President Moy on the tarmac over possession of the cargo.

Chapter 15: Giving Back to the Community

Belva describes her work for numerous nonprofits, including the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame Awards program, the De Young Museum, and the country’s first Museum of the African Diaspora. 

Chapter 16:  My Life Today

Belva describes her work on KQED’s “This Week in Northern California,” her family life, and the importance of receiving three honorary doctorates and what they mean to a high-school graduate.