Gene Davis is a slight, dapper man with a calm, measured presence and a big smile. It belies the challenges he's had to face. Davis is a hearing-impaired gay Black man whose disability has often altered the course of his life.
Born in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1954, Davis' childhood was marred by health issues, including hearing that just kept getting worse. "I was so hurt because I couldn't go to school," he remembered. "I went to the first grade when I was in 10th grade." He kept switching schools, falling further behind in his education.
When Davis was 35, his mother sent him to Chicago to live with his father, since Jackson didn't have a place for someone with his disability. "There was no future for me in Jackson," he wrote in an autobiography he shared with this reporter. Chicago has helped Davis come into his own. For the first time he was able to take sign-language classes regularly and connect with both deaf and gay people. Before then, he thought he was the only person with hearing impairment.
Davis was happy to find acceptance in the Catholic Church, and meeting a hearing-impaired priest at St. Thomas's Apostolic Church was a personal turning point: the priest told him it wasn't too late for him to do what he wanted. Davis had always wanted to be a priest and recently, he took steps along his journey of faith, joining the Secular Franciscan Order in mid-January. "You work with people, you work with the homeless and help the homeless," he explained.
Initially, Davis was worried about working with the Catholic Church. "I felt nervous because of my lifestyle," he said. "I told them I was gay, and they told me, 'Oh, that's okay'. And I told them I was nervous and they were open with it, so I said okay. I was happy about it. My life is different now, and it's getting better because I became more Christian."
At 61, Davis is mostly content. "I have my own place now. I work very hard and I'm more active. I'm very happy and I know God loves me and I want to do more things in the gay community." He said he feels good about being gay and disabled and that generally, he finds both communities are open to each other. Still, he knows what he would like to see change.
"In the gay community I would like to see more help for people with disabilities," Davis said. "Be patient with them. I'm surprised that there's not a Gay Pride with disabilities. I would like to see something better for gay pride. You guys have a Gay Pride. We don't. We are gay with disabilities. But we don't have a Gay Pride." He also thinks more gay people with disabilities should come out and not be ashamed.
Davis wants to be a role model for disabled people, particularly young ones, encouraging them to finish their education and find hope. "I'm looking to make things better. I'm looking to help people," he said. He runs his own cleaning service, Gene's Cleaning, and wants to use his business to reach out to other hearing-impaired individuals. He also wants to find or start a program to do outreach in the disability community. "I want to be more of a role model and I want to let the younger generation know, don't feel bad about themselves," he said.
Davis has definite dreams—finding a partner is somewhere on the list. "It can happen," he laughed, though he said it might need some conversation with a higher power. He speaks relentlessly about a future where he will get to do the things he couldn't have done if he stayed in Jackson.
"I want to become something," Davis said, and he gets emotional when he talks about wanting to tell his life story. "I'm 61 years old, I've never been speaking up for myself and I want someone to help me write a book," he said. "There's a whole story to my life."
To get in touch with Gene about writing his story, email him at genecleaning@sbcglobal.net .
