Benjamin Jefferson Davis Jr. (September 8, 1903 – August 22, 1964), was an African-American lawyer and communist who was elected in 1943 to the New York City Council, representing Harlem.

The elder Benjamin Davis emerged as a prominent black political leader and served as a member of the Republican National Committee for the state of Georgia.

[7] Davis became radicalized through his role as defense attorney in the 1933 trial of Angelo Herndon, a 19-year-old black Communist who had been charged with violating a Georgia law against "attempting to incite insurrection", because he tried to organize a farm workers' union.

In 1943, Davis was elected under the then-used system of proportional representation to fill a city council seat being vacated by Adam Clayton Powell Jr. to run for Congress.

First, two years earlier, New York had ceased to use proportional representation and Harlem was broken up into three districts, diluting the black vote.

[citation needed] Second, Davis's opponent in the new 21st district was journalist Earl Brown, a fusion candidate for the Democratic, Republican, and Liberal parties.

Paul Robeson, noted actor, singer, and civil rights activist publicly advocated for Davis and his fellow defendants.

[15] In 1957, the Supreme Court revisited the Smith Act and reversed itself in Yates v. United States,[16] which held that the First Amendment protected radical and reactionary speech, unless it posed a "clear and present danger."

In subsequent years, Davis engaged in a speaking tour of college campuses and remained politically active, promoting an agenda of civil rights and economic populism.

Davis' 1962 speaking circuit drew crowds at schools such as Harvard, Columbia, Amherst, Oberlin and the University of Minnesota.

He was less than one month shy of his 61st birthday at the time of his death, and was in the midst of a campaign for New York State Senate on the People's Party ticket.