# Miss Olivia A. Davidson — Up from Slavery character guide

> Miss Olivia A. Davidson in Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Miss Davidson, Olivia A. Davidson, Miss Olivia Davidson, Miss Davidon

**First appearance:** 0010-vii-early-days-at-tuskegee

## Snapshot

A light-skinned Hampton graduate who refused to pass as white, she brought fresh teaching ideas to Tuskegee and helped lay its foundations before becoming Washington's wife.

## Who they are

Davidson arrives at Tuskegee as a teacher of rare moral character and unselfishness, and Washington credits her with doing more than any single individual to establish the school. When offered the chance to hide her racial identity at a Massachusetts normal school, she refuses outright, a small scene that reveals her spine. Together they push beyond book-learning toward bathing, hygiene, and trade skills, and her partnership gives the fledgling school its practical soul.

## Relationships

### [Mrs. Viola Ruffner](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/up_from_slavery_se/characters/mrs_viola_ruffner)

_professional_

Olivia Davidson was a teacher at Tuskegee and later married Booker T. Washington; she had a collegial relationship with Mrs. Ruffner.

### [Booker T. Washington](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/up_from_slavery_se/characters/booker_t_washington)

_romantic_

Olivia Davidson was Booker T. Washington's first wife, and they shared a loving partnership in building Tuskegee.

## In the story

### [VIII: Teaching School in a Stable and a Henhouse](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/up_from_slavery_se/chapters/viii-teaching-school-in-a-stable-and-a-henhouse)

Arrives as a co-teacher after the first six weeks; later becomes Washington's wife. She had previously taught in Mississippi and Memphis.

### [Anxious Days and Sleepless Nights](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/up_from_slavery_se/chapters/ix-anxious-days-and-sleepless-nights)

Works tirelessly to raise funds in the North and South, securing the first Northern gift of $50, and teaches Sunday school while serving as lady principal.

### [X: A Harder Task Than Making Bricks Without Straw](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/up_from_slavery_se/chapters/x-a-harder-task-than-making-bricks-without-straw)

Traveled North with Washington in the summer of 1882 to raise funds for the new building.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/up_from_slavery_se/characters/miss_olivia_a_davidson
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/up_from_slavery_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/up_from_slavery_se/characters