--- title: SR 686. Davenport, Brenda Joyce; recognize collection: bills id: 2025-2026/sr686 cite_as: SR 686, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr686 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr686.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr686/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72765 date: 2026-02-03 status: passed corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr685.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr687.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 94 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr686.md?full=1 bill_number: SR 686 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: Senate bill_type: resolution status_date: 2026-02-03 last_action: Senate Read and Adopted sponsors: - Donzella James text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SR686/2025 upstream_id: 2104412 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - civil rights recognition - Georgia Senate resolution - Atlanta community leaders - Southern Christian Leadership Conference --- # SR 686. Davenport, Brenda Joyce; recognize ## Text Senate Resolution 686 By: Senator James of the 28th A RESOLUTION Recognizing and commending Brenda Joyce Davenport; and for other purposes. WHEREAS, Brenda Joyce Davenport is an outstanding community leader and foot soldier working for civil and human rights with a long history of nurturing and advocating for the critical issues facing African American youth and the community; and WHEREAS, the youngest daughter of Bernard and Dorothy Davenport, Brenda is a lifelong member of Ebenezer Baptist Church, where she was baptized by Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.; and WHEREAS, she graduated from Booker T. Washington High School, Atlanta's first public high school for African Americans, and later matriculated at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, at age 16; and WHEREAS, at Shaw University, she participated in several demonstrations with the freedom fighter and campus organizer Willie Ricks "Mukasa,” and was a proud member of the esteemed Beta Theta chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., as well as the Student Government Association and the UNCF Pre-Alumni Association; and WHEREAS, Brenda spent an impressive 30 years with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), taking on several roles to advance causes important to African Americans, especially children and youth; and WHEREAS, during her tenure, she established hundreds of youth voter registration campaigns and youth nonviolence training; and WHEREAS, Brenda assisted in organizing the National Voter Rights March, the first reenactment of the Selma to Montgomery March, and has provided countless opportunities for youth to travel both nationally and internationally to experience historic events, reenactments, celebrations, marches, and speeches; and WHEREAS, appointed by Dr. Joseph Lowery, she became the youngest person to serve on the SCLC's National Board of Directors, where she worked alongside notable Civil Rights figures such as Representative Walter Fauntroy, Mrs. Rosa Parks, Mrs. Johnnie Carr, Mrs. Coretta Scott King, Mrs. Evelyn Lowery, and Mr. Dick Gregory, among others; and WHEREAS, Brenda played a key organizational role alongside SCLC leaders such as Dr. Joseph Lowery, Rev. E. Randel T. Osburn, Rev. Fred D. Taylor, Frederick Moore, and Ralph Worrell; was a key organizer of the Gun Buy Back - Stop the Violence Campaigns, which collected thousands of guns off the streets; and was instrumental in anti-apartheid campaigns on college campuses during the time of the South Africa Anti-Apartheid Movement; and WHEREAS, her community outreach expands to civic and religious institutions as the founder and CEO of the Rosa Parks Consortium, director of the Children's Ministry at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, board member of the A. D. King Foundation, and Atlanta coordinator for The Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self-Development; and WHEREAS, in recognition of her exemplary leadership and service, Brenda has received several awards, including those from the TRIO program at Morris Brown College, The King Center Community Service Award, the Outstanding Leadership Award from the A. D. Williams King Chapel for Children at the Ebenezer Baptist Church, the Outstanding Women of America and Operation PUSH, and the Community Service Award from the Atlanta Alumna Chapter of Bennett College; and WHEREAS, she was honored by the distinguished Atlanta Chapter of 100 Black Women with the Unsung Heroine award and was recognized as part of the Georgia Women's Legislative Caucus Yellow Rose Servant Leader Award; and WHEREAS, it is abundantly fitting and proper to honor the outstanding accomplishments of this esteemed Georgian. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE that the members of this body recognize and commend Brenda Joyce Davenport for her unwavering commitment to civil rights in the State of Georgia and extend best wishes for her continued health and happiness. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is authorized and directed to make an appropriate copy of this resolution available for distribution to Brenda Joyce Davenport. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary. A Georgia Senate resolution formally recognizes and commends Brenda Joyce Davenport, a longtime civil rights organizer and community leader, for her decades of work with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. ### Plain-language summary This is a ceremonial resolution from the Georgia Senate, not a law that changes anyone's rights or duties. It honors Brenda Joyce Davenport, an Atlanta native who spent about 30 years with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), where she organized youth voter registration drives, nonviolence trainings, and events like the National Voter Rights March. She became the youngest person to serve on the SCLC's National Board of Directors and worked alongside well known civil rights figures. The resolution also notes her broader community work, including founding the Rosa Parks Consortium, leading the Children's Ministry at Ebenezer Baptist Church, and serving on the A. D. King Foundation board, along with numerous awards she has received. The Senate resolves to commend her for her civil rights work and directs the Secretary of the Senate to provide her with a copy of the resolution. ### What it does - Formally states the Georgia Senate's recognition and commendation of Brenda Joyce Davenport for her civil rights work. - Directs the Secretary of the Senate to prepare and distribute a copy of the resolution to Davenport. - Creates no new law, funding, or regulatory requirement; it is a symbolic honor rather than a change to the Georgia Code. ### Who it affects The resolution directly names and honors Brenda Joyce Davenport. It has no legal effect on the general public, agencies, or businesses since it is a ceremonial recognition rather than a substantive change in law. ### Why it matters The resolution carries no legal or financial consequences; its significance is symbolic, publicly recording the Georgia Senate's appreciation for one individual's decades of civil rights organizing and community service in the official legislative record. ### Key provisions - The resolution recounts Davenport's biography, education, and 30 years of service with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). - It resolves that the Senate recognizes and commends her for her commitment to civil rights and wishes her continued health and happiness. - It directs the Secretary of the Senate to make a copy of the resolution available for distribution to her. ## Status - Status: Passed (2026-02-03) - Last action: Senate Read and Adopted (2026-02-03) - Sponsors: Donzella James - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72765 > The history, votes, and amendments (94 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr686.md?full=1