My eyes were opened and I felt like I had been lied to and a fool. Capitalism needed poverty in order to function.
-- GORDON T. DAVIS
Gordon T. Davis
AGE: 61 
RESIDENT: Worcester 
EDUCATION: Student, College of the Holy Cross. Bachelor's degrees in history and math, Worcester State College. 
WORK/ACTIVITY: Consulting/advocacy. Former standards engineer, Klockner-Moeller Corp., Franklin. 
PERSONAL: Married to Gwen Davis; two children. 
OTHER: Author of “Holy Cross Class of '72 Ex-Man”
WORCESTER —  Gordon T. Davis describes going to the College of Holy Cross as a “a trip to heaven.”

But the experience changed him in ways the Jesuits on the hill and the young Davis himself likely did not anticipate. When Mr. Davis arrived at Holy Cross he was a devout black Catholic from Philadelphia, the son of a former military career man and mechanic. By the time Mr. Davis left, he was a “revolutionary atheist,” to use his own words.

He still is.

Mr. Davis, 61, stayed in Worcester and has been a well-known activist on the local scene over the years. He was most recently in the news a couple of months ago when he petitioned the Worcester Public Library board of directors to ban North East White Pride, a self-described white rights organization.

Quietly spoken in person, kindly, and with failing eyesight, he is unabashed about talking of “a society based on human rights and human needs.” His wife, Gwen Davis, 60, has long been a fellow traveler. “It may sound old hat, but an egalitarian society is what I'm fighting for,” she said. Both are members of the Progressive Labor Party, a revolutionary communist group. The couple have two grown children.

Recently, Mr. Davis took the time to look back at the transformative experience of going to Holy Cross by writing a memoir, “Holy Cross Class of '72 Ex-Man.”

The class of 1972 has the reputation of being the most radical in the history of the college. Mr. Davis recounts some of those turbulent times, which included a walkout at Holy Cross in 1969 by black students organized by the Black Student Union. “The walkout helped to give Holy Cross a reputation as a radical school,” Mr. Davis writes in his book. A magazine subsequently voted it as “the most radical college in New England in 1970.” Several fellow BSU students would become famous, including Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, nationally recognized defense attorney Ted Wells, and Edward P. Jones, winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for his novel “The Known World.” Mr. Davis writes about these people and many others.

The book is self-published, Mr. Davis said, because he did not know how much interest there would be. It's a part of Worcester history that had almost been forgotten, he noted. In fact, that era at Holy Cross has recently become the subject of a couple of other published pieces.

“I'm happy I wrote it. I thought my experience was interesting,” Mr. Davis said.

Race, Vietnam, walkouts, student radicalism, protests — few would dispute it was a different time. “There's never been one subsequently like it,” Mr. Davis said. “I think that part of it was because we took such an active role. We didn't know what the rules were at the time because they were not so well defined. We started to define things for ourselves in the larger society.”

Mr. Davis recalled that he had “an epiphany” in Economics 102 when he realized “poverty was an integral part of capitalism. … My eyes were opened and I felt like I had been lied to and a fool. Capitalism needed poverty in order to function.”

The economics “led me to realize there was a difference between a duty to God and a duty to other people,” Mr. Davis said. With Mr. Jones, he helped start a free breakfast program for children at Our Lady of Fatima parish.

“What I can say without reserve is that in my time at Holy Cross, Gordon Davis had the most integrity of all those I knew at the college. He stands above all of them,” said Mr. Jones. “What is lost nowadays is the phrase ‘a man of his word.' Well, Gordon was that — devoted, kind, giving, and any other adjective one might give to a good man. I am better for having known him, truly.”

Times changed. Mr. Davis used the word “betrayal” in talking about Mr. Thomas' opposition to affirmative action.

“When I knew him he was a really nice guy,” Mr. Davis said. “Something happened to him, I don't know. What I did say publicly — I thought what he was doing was wrong and did not allow anyone to follow him.”

Mr. Davis credits Holy Cross with helping him “break through” as a person. But he did not keep his observant Catholic faith and also did not end up graduating from the college (hence the term “ '72 Ex-Man” in his book's title). However, he did earn bachelor's degrees in history and math from Worcester State University and worked and raised a family. He ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Worcester School Committee in 1997. And he remained a Marxist-Leninist.

It goes without saying that a lot of people are going to strenuously disagree with his views. Does he ever feel like a voice in a wilderness?

“Oh no. Sometimes you have to take the lead in things. When you do that you have to accept that not everybody's going to side with you. But you have to keep saying it — what you feel,” Mr. Davis said.

Mr. Jones, who is now on the faculty at George Washington University, said, “I sincerely believe that that little piece of Massachusetts is a better place because he speaks out, because he demonstrates.

“The people protesting on Wall Street and elsewhere in this country don't know anything Gordon didn't long, long ago. We should be grateful that he is out there. Please believe me.”

“Holy Cross Class of '72 Ex-Man” ($10.88) can be purchased through www.amazon.com.