Rennie Davis


Rennard Cordon "Rennie" Davis is best known as an American anti-war activist of the 1960s. He was one of the Chicago Seven defendants charged for anti-war demonstrations and large-scale protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. He had a prominent organizational role in the American anti-Vietnam War protest movement of the 1960s.
In the early 1970s, Davis became a follower of Guru Maharaj Ji and his Divine Light Mission. He began to travel as a spiritual lecturer. He also became a venture capitalist, and founded the Foundation for a New Humanity to combine these goals.

Background

Born in Lansing, Michigan, in 1941 to Mary and Richard Davis, he grew up in Berryville, Virginia. His father worked in nearby Washington, DC, including serving as chief of staff to Council of Economic Advisers under President Harry S. Truman. Davis graduated from Oberlin College in Ohio.
In the 1960s, Davis became active in the Students for a Democratic Society. He was the National Director of their project of community organizing programs. Davis became increasingly allied with anti-war groups, and helped organize protests and related events before and during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago for the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam.

Chicago Democratic Convention and Conspiracy Trial

Davis was one of the principal organizers of the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam to plan anti-war protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. He negotiated unsuccessfully to gain a permit with Chicago city counsel Tom Foran. At a "police riot" in Grant Park, Davis was among protesters beaten by Chicago police officers, and he suffered a concussion. Unlike some other leaders, Davis was committed to nonviolence. His injury by police shook the protesters' remaining belief in pacifism.
The Chicago Eight were eight men charged with conspiracy, inciting to riot, and other charges related to the nonviolent and violent protests that took place in Chicago. The original eight protester/defendants, indicted by the grand jury on March 20, 1969, included Davis, Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, David Dellinger, Tom Hayden, John Froines, Lee Weiner, and Bobby Seale, a Black Panther leader.
During the early part of the trial, Seale's case was separated from the others. The Chicago Seven defense attorneys were William Kunstler and Leonard Weinglass of the Center for Constitutional Rights. The judge was Julius Hoffman. The prosecutors were Richard Schultz and Tom Foran. The trial began on 24 September 1969. On 9 October the Illinois National Guard was called in to join the Chicago police for crowd control, as demonstrations grew outside the courtroom.

Divine Light Mission

In the early 1970s Davis became a follower of Guru Maharaj Ji. He was a spokesperson and speaker at the widely publicized Millennium '73 event organized by Divine Light Mission in the Houston Astrodome. He described the arrival of Guru Maharaj Ji as, Texas Monthly quoted Davis as stating: "This city is going to be remembered through all the ages of human civilization." An Op-ed in the San Francisco Sunday Examiner speculated at the time as to whether Davis had undergone a lobotomy, and suggested, "If not, maybe he should try one."

Foundation for a New Humanity

Davis later became a venture capitalist and lecturer on meditation and self-awareness. He is the founder of Foundation for a New Humanity, a technology development and venture capital company commercializing breakthrough technologies.
He has appeared on Larry King Live, Barbara Walters, CNN, Phil Donahue, VH1, and other network programs. He consults and provides advice in business strategies for Fortune 500 companies.
Davis returned to Chicago for the 1996 Democratic National Convention to speak at the "Festival of Life" in Grant Park. He appeared on a panel with activist Tom Hayden discussing "a progressive counterbalance to the religious right".
In an article published in the Iowa Source in 2005, Davis said: