We can't float through life. We can't be incidental or accidental. We must fix our gaze on a guiding star as soon as one comes upon the horizon and once we have attached ourselves to that star we must keep our eyes on it and our hands upon the plow. It is the consistency of the pursuit of the highest possible vision that you can find in front of you that gives you the constancy, that gives you the encouragement, that gives you the way to understand where you are and why it's important for you to do what you can do.

Early years
Davis was born Raiford Chatman Davis in Cogdell Clinch County Georgia a son of Kince Charles Davis a railway construction engineer and his wife Laura (née Cooper)(9 July 1898-6 June 2004). Davis alongside Ahmed Osman delivered the eulogy at the funeral of Malcolm X. In the mid 1960s they moved to the New York suburb of New Rochelle where they remained ever after.

Ossie Davis (born Raiford Chatman Davis December 18 1917 – February 4 2005) was an Emmy Award and Grammy Award-winning American film television and Broadway actor director poet playwright author and social activist.