Folks Canceled Sammy Davis Jr. — but It’s Time to Reinstate Him

Thirty years after his death, the entertainer has been forgotten or dismissed — yet, he dared to live his life in defiance of expectations

Sammy Davis Jr. in his dressing room during an interview for his BBC television special ‘Meet Sammy Davis Jr.’, on April 11, 1963. Photo: Radio Times/Getty Images

Update 6/7/22: Level has a new home. You can read this article and other new articles by visiting LEVELMAN.com.

He stands onstage, a cigarette in one hand and a microphone in the other, impeccably dressed in a black tuxedo and matching bow tie. It’s the mid-1960s, and the nation is on edge. Black Americans are combating disenfranchisement in the South, often facing violence and arrest; in Harlem and Watts, frustrated by police brutality and rampant poverty, they’re rioting. White supremacy and anti-Semitism are on the rise, with George Lincoln Rockwell’s American Nazi Party attracting national attention. Tensions between White and Black seem fit to boil over.

Enter Sammy Davis Jr., a thirtysomething Black man, a rich and successful entertainer, and a convert to Judaism.

“I’m colored, Jewish, and Puerto Rican,” Davis tells the audience. He pauses for a beat before delivering the kicker: “When I move into a neighborhood, I wipe it out!”