Fath Davis Ruffins

1954 - 2024

(Pasty) Fath Davis Ruffins died suddenly on November 13, 2024, at the Museums of the Caribbean conference in Panama. She was born in Texas on September 27, 1954, to Robert and Myrtle Davis and grew up in Washington, DC. In 1972, she became the National Cathedral School's first Black valedictorian. She went on to major in history and literature at Harvard, serving as the president of AFRO, the Black student organization. In 1976, she graduated Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude and was awarded a Danforth Fellowship.

Fath served as the first Administrative Director of Harvard's W.E.B. Du Bois Institute while pursuing a Ph.D. in American Studies. Frustrated by Harvard's narrow, academic view of history, she resigned to become a graduate recruiter for Stanford University.

In 1981, she embraced public history, becoming the first Black woman curator at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. Over the next 43 years, Fath led the Collection of Advertising History and published many articles on African American preservation efforts and the origins of ethnic museums. Her major exhibition projects included After the Revolution- Everyday Life in America, From Victory to Freedom, and Many Voices, One Nation, and she served as an officer of the African American Historical and Genealogical Society and the African American Museums Association. At the time of her passing, Fath was leading a project on the Low Country region of the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida.

Fath leaves behind her husband, Paul Ruffins; her children, Joy and Robert; her sister, Brenda; her daughter-in-law, Amberine Huda; and her goddaughter, Taifa Murray Peaks. As a mentor, she helped shape a generation of public historians and activists.

Memorial Services will be held on January 11 at Grace Chapel at the National Cathedral School. Fath will be interred in a private ceremony at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please send donations in Fath's name to wpfwfm.org.