By Scott Steward
Richard (Dick) Livingston was the kind of educator and citizen who defined what it means to belong to a community. He passed away in June, and a celebration of life will be held this Sunday at 2:00 p.m. at Rushtallers to honor his legacy. Mr. Livingston had a whole family side I wasn’t familiar with, and I offer my condolences to them. I knew Mr. Livingston as a Davis Senior High School teacher and social justice activist in 1978. I would learn much later that he was a jazz musician. There is much to know and remember. He did not like overwrought accolades, but I’ll do it anyway.
In a town where roughly 95% of the student body was headed for four-year universities, it was easy for a student running behind the curve to feel out of place. Dick never let that happen to me. He was more than an instructor—he was a mentor who saw potential where others saw performance gaps. He had an infectious joy in meeting students exactly where they were, building confidence, and cherishing their individuality.
His political science classroom was anything but a place for passive listening. Along with reading about governance, we became actors in it. Every teenager—from varsity athletes and academics to nonconformists and those of us still finding our footing—was assigned to represent a U.S. state as a sitting senator. Dick served as the muse and referee of learning, watching from the sidelines with a healthy dose of cynical humor as we debated real-world ethics, drafted bills, forged strategic coalitions, and watched those alliances rise and fall. Everyone felt the folly and the responsibility of holding the reins of power that belonged to the people.
Dick showed up; we saw him set an example of what it takes to push against the comfortable, politically privileged “Davis bubble” and insist on a progressivism that requires accountability, not complacency.
Others might not know that he was a co-founder of the local ACLU chapter, that he received the 2002 Thong H. Huynh Lifetime Achievement Award for his work promoting civil rights and social justice, that his successful grassroots campaigning for progressive leader Julie Partansky, and other progressive elected officials, shaped our famous local open-space, environmental, and human rights policies, or that he repeatedly organized local forums to advocate for local government policy.
Dick Livingston was a local cultural anchor who, through the Dick Livingston Quartet, blended art and advocacy, performing across Yolo County (including the historic Blue Mango) and mentoring young local musicians.
Dick embodied the best of our town’s activist ethos: a sharp mind, an uncompromising moral compass, and a deep affection for his community.
I only wish I had spent more time in his company as an adult Davis resident. His spirit lives on throughout the “Republic of Davis,” reminding us to hold ourselves, our institutions, and the society we build together to higher standards and to have a good time doing it.
Leave a comment