She at once replied that under no
circumstances and for no considerations would she consent to
deceive any one in regard to her racial identity.
Soon after her graduation from the Framingham institution, Miss
Davidson came to Tuskegee, bringing into the school many valuable
and fresh ideas as to the best methods of teaching, as well as a
rare moral character and a life of unselfishness that I think has
seldom been equalled. No single individual did more toward laying
the foundations of the Tuskegee Institute so as to insure the
successful work that has been done there than Olivia A. Davidson.
Miss Davidson and I began consulting as to the future of the
school from the first. The students were making progress in
learning books and in development their minds; but it became
apparent at once that, if we were to make any permanent
impression upon those who had come to us for training we must do
something besides teach them mere books. The students had come
from homes where they had had no opportunities for lessons which
would teach them how to care for their bodies. With few
exceptions, the homes in Tuskegee in which the students boarded
were but little improvement upon those from which they had come.
We wanted to teach the students how to bathe; how to care for
their teeth and clothing.
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