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ing. Cecile DeMae Nicholson Dawson
was a successful businesswoman whose
academic accomplishments rivaled her
husband’s. She was smart, capable,
and independent. The couple adored
one another. They enjoyed traveling
together; when he traveled alone, he
wrote long letters (helpfully preserved
in the Emory University archives) and
bought her presents. They often en-
tertained company in their home and
were renowned in Tuskegee and beyond
for their good taste in food, decor, and
fashion. Photo 2 shows them enjoy-
22
ing a night out in elegant midlife, look-
ing happy and relaxed. When his wife’s
declining health required her to move
into a Montgomery assisted-living facil-
ity, the elderly Dawson drove forty miles
from Tuskegee every day to visit her.
By contrast, in the professional realm
Dawson’s sweet center usually remained
secure inside its crunchy shell. Nonethe-
less, his heart occasionally revealed itself
in interactions with students. Zenobia
Powell Perry, a Tuskegee piano student
from 1935 to ‘38 who went on to an
illustrious career as a composer, de-
scribed how Dawson encouraged her to
write down her piano “doodlings” and
show them to him. He even respected
her ideas about his own arrangements
Photo 2. Cecile and William Dawson at the Silver Rail Bar and Grill, New York City, Au- during choir rehearsals, responding to
gust 1951. William Levi Dawson Papers, Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare her critique with “Don’t tell me what it
Book Library, Emory University. oughta be,” before adding, after a well-
timed comedic pause, “Now, what did
23
knew that few of his students would become profes- you say that oughta be?” Addie Mae Stabler Mitch-
sional musicians, but the musical education he offered ell, another choir member from this period, relates that
equipped them with experience, knowledge, and pride when she was struggling with hoarseness prior to an
that would serve them well in any life path. off-campus performance, Dawson invited her to ride
in a faculty member’s car instead of on the bus with
the rest of the choir, so that she could “get some extra
The Person rest.” 24
Dawson’s nearly fifty-five-year marriage is the obvi- The experience of Ralph Ellison is revealing. As a
ous place to look for evidence of his kindness and car- young man, the famed author aspired to be a compos-

CHORAL JOURNAL September 2024 Volume 65 Number 2 35