| Summary: | Entrepreneur and civic leader Walter Edmond Douglas Sr. was raised in the town of Hamlet, North Carolina. Douglas earned his B.A. degree in accounting in 1954, and later his M.B.A. degree, from North Carolina Central University. After a stint in the U.S. Army, he was hired by the Internal Revenue Service. An assignment transfer brought him to Detroit in 1966. Following the 1967 Detroit riots, Douglas began volunteering around the city. In 1972, he became the vice president of New Detroit Inc, a nonprofit founded, in 1967, to deal with the city's racial and employment tensions. In 1978, Douglas was named president of New Detroit, and remained in that position until 1985. In 1986, Douglas purchased a share of Avis Ford in suburban Detroit, becoming the majority owner in 1992. He has since earned a host of awards for the success of his dealership and for his work as a Detroit-area philanthropist.
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