Alifea Davis grew up in a small town in North Carolina. Throughout high school he maintained a stellar academic record, received several scholar-athlete awards and presided over the Young Elite Brothers (YEB), a group of male seniors that volunteered and performed community service throughout the local area. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill majoring in African and Afro-American studies.

As an undergraduate, he worked with several community organizations teaching and mentoring in after-school programs and neighborhood community centers. Upon graduation he returned home to Rocky Mount, North Carolina where he worked with the Ebenezer Baptist Church as a community organizer planning political campaigns, voter registration drives, youth summits and other events. In 2005, Mr. Davis moved to California to attend law school at the then oldest Public Interest Law School in the country. As a law student at New College, he worked with legal aid as an advocate for the homeless and impoverished helping them obtain access to healthcare, remove barriers to employment, and receive fair treatment in landlord/tenant disputes. After law school, he then attended Golden Gate University School of Law and studied as a Master of Laws in International Law.