Member Spotlight: Lisa Davis

Entertainment lawyer Lisa Davis fights against hate and for racial justice with SOMA Action.

Let's start with a brief bio: where you're from, when did you come to the area, what you do, that kind of stuff... 

I have lived in South Orange for 22 years.  I moved here from Brooklyn with my husband after my son was born.  My daughter was born here in South Orange.  I am an entertainment lawyer who practices in New York City.

Can you recall when you first heard about SOMA Action? 

My friend, Ruth Lowenkron told me about the second meeting of SOMA Action at the Maplewood Library in January 2017.  I attended that meeting and got involved. What made you decide to get involved?  I have always been politically active and was horrified by Trump’s election, so it made sense to work with folks in my community to combat his authoritarian agenda.

Tell us about the main focus of your work with our organization.  

I am a member of the Political Action Committee and the Racial Justice Committee. I am one of SOMA Action’s designees to the SOMA Against Hate Collective.

Have you been involved in social/political activism prior to SOMA Action? If so, tell us about it. 

I have been politically active my entire life, starting as a college student pushing for my university to divest from companies doing business in apartheid era South Africa.  I have been involved in numerous political campaigns, including Obama in 2008 and 2012 and Hillary Clinton in 2016.  I have done fundraising, canvassing, and voter protection, including for Biden in Philadelphia this past November.

What about since joining SOMA Action?

The most satisfying actions I was involved in were SOMA Action's sustained political outreach campaigns and our collaborations with other community organizations to combat racism, anti-Semitism and homophobia.  

In the 2018 midterms I was part of the groups of SOMA Action members who fanned out to canvass for Tom Malinowski and Mikie Sherrill.  

I also participated in Kathleen Kargoll's epic postcard to voters campaign during that cycle.  

In 2019, the most rewarding work was coming together with other community organizations to form the SOMA Against Hate collective to combat the efforts of white supremacist organizations to recruit in our towns.  

In  2020 and early 2021, I phonebanked to swing states like Pennsylvania and volunteered to do legal voter protection on Election Day in Philadelphia.  I then participated in the campaign to win the two runoffs in Georgia coordinated by the inestimable Jessica James and Alison Posner.  

In addition, SOMA Against Hate just lent our support to a neighbor in Orange who has been the victim of homophobic harassment.  We began meeting with the victim in October and strategized with him over several meetings culminating in a very successful community rally on January 24th that brought out the Mayor of Orange and several members of the City Council.

What historical figures inspire you? 

I am inspired by Ida B. Wells, Constance Baker Motley and Malcolm X.

What is your favorite quote?  

My favorite quote is by Frederick Douglass:  Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.