Black History Month Profiles: Shellye Davis

This year, for Black History Month, we’re taking a look at a group of leaders who are currently active making Black history across the labor movement. Check back daily for a new profile and meet some of the people working to improve not only their community, but also to improve conditions for working people across the country. Today’s profile is Shellye Davis of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT).

Shellye Davis was unanimously elected executive vice president at the Connecticut AFL-CIO’s 14th biennial Constitutional Convention on Oct. 29, 2021. Davis is the first Black woman to be elected as the second officer of the state federation. She is a paraeducator with over 25 years of experience in public education and decades of experience in organized labor. Davis also is the chair of the Committee on Racial and Economic Justice, which is committed to addressing systemic issues around implicit racial bias across the labor movement.