Marshall Davis

Marshall Davis graduated from Miami Northwestern High School. He earned a bachelor's degree from Florida Atlantic University in 1972. His career experience includes working as a director.[1]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I was born in Overtown and raised in Liberty City. My life’s work has proven that when our communities receive real access and resources, we reshape the world. When I realized in college that my schooling hadn't fully prepared me as a visual arts student, I changed my major to Theatre at Florida Atlantic University and earned my BFA. That experience forged my lifelong mission: no child under my watch would ever be left behind. For 43 years, I served as Managing Director of the African Heritage Cultural Arts Center, a facility unanimously renamed the Marshall L. Davis, Sr. AHCAC in my honor. There, I designed a multi-arts curriculum that has empowered over 15k youth and adults. Our alumni have earned full scholarships to Juilliard and Yale, led Alvin Ailey, performed on Broadway, and won both Tony and Academy Awards. My service has earned the Arsht Education Champion Award, Knight Foundation Arts Champion, Hero of Liberty City, and countless proclamations. Beyond culture, I have navigated complex governments and capital projects. I saved cultural facilities from demolition and inspired the development of others. Running for Congress in District 24 is a direct extension of my legacy. I plan to scale my proven model to deliver workforce equity, developer accountability, and community wealth on a national stage. I’ve spent my life in the district, watching how systemic gaps and aggressive development threaten to erase our historic neighborhoods. This is my why.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

At its core, my campaign is built on character. "I can’t be bought, and I am not for sale," isn't just a political soundbite, it is a proven testament to my 43+ year career in public service. My leadership style requires integrity, and every decision I make or program I have built is guided by three unwavering intentions: 1.) To keep people safe. 2.) To make choices that directly protect and enhance their well-being. 3.) To deliver quality, transformative programming that expands opportunities - academically, personally, and socially. District 24 deserves a leader whose integrity has already stood the test of time, who fights and wins and who answers only to the working families in the community.District 24 needs permanent solutions. Real change begins with investing in human infrastructure - workers, youth, small business owners, and families. For over four decades I have delivered and I have proven that when you give people quality academic, social, and professional tools, you create generational stability. Brick-and-mortar development must serve the human beings who already live here. In Congress, I will ensure federal resources go directly into human capital—funding local job training, protecting working families, and equipping our community to lead and profit from our district's growth. Every policy I champion will prioritize human investment to ensure economic development enriches our families.Big developers, tech companies, and crypto HQs are profiting from South Florida's boom, but our local neighborhoods aren't seeing the return. Any developer or corporation receiving federal tax incentives, subsidies, or land must give back to the community by guaranteeing local hiring quotas, directing funding for workforce training, and mandatory contributions to affordable housing funds. We must ensure that the working families and local creatives who gave this district its soul are not priced out of its future. Growth must serve our people, not squeeze them out. In Congress, I will leverage federal policy to demand that corporations invest directly in District 24's human capital. I’m not anti-growth, I’m pro-accountability.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

My 43+ year career demonstrates passion by building up our people and our community. In Congress, my lifelong platform aligns with three policy areas: Education and the Workforce, Housing and Urban Development and Small Business and Economic Opportunity. All of my efforts will go towards expanding federal resources for vocational apprenticeships, creative pathways, and youth mentorship to turn human infrastructure into economic security; using federal funding measures to mandate community benefit agreements that secure affordable housing quotas and anti-displacement protections, as well as creating local jobs, supporting small business owners, and building community wealth that stays directly inside District 24.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

My highest endorsement comes directly from the people whose lives I've transformed: the grandmothers and single mothers whose children received scholarships, the artists who reached international stages, the teachers given new career platforms, and the working families who built this neighborhood. I answer to these everyday constituents, not political insiders. I am not a career politician trading favors, I am a proven public servant who answered the call of duty. When I entered this race, it was not to run again anyone, but to run for the people as I was already on a journey to Washington to present my 43-year proven community program as a national model.