Alice Walker, world-renowned author most famous for her book The Color Purple, said of sisterhood: “Is solace anywhere more comforting than that in the arms of a sister?” It is a meaningful quote and is the basis for this article. The idea of standing up for what is right always has been a human struggle. The most notable of people doing the continued fighting are women who often have been the backbone of any human fight against injustice. From Harriet Tubman to Ella Baker from Fannie Lou Hamer to Michelle Obama, women, especially black women, have been standing up for what is right for a long time. Here in Roanoke that same spirit is in the streets of the city. In a story in the August edition of ColorsVa, I spoke about the Gainsboro community and the leaders it had produced. I should have included Helen Davis and Evelyn Bethel, known as the Davis sisters and sometimes mistaken for twins. These sisters are trailblazers and know what it means to make a difference in your community. They have challenged City of Roanoke leaders on urban renewal projects in an effort to make certain the black community is considered in the process.
Born in April 1928, Davis is the eldest at 90. Bethel, born in June 1933, is 85. Many stories have been written about the dynamic duo, but words cannot adequately describe their impact. I will try my best to capture just a little of that importance.
They were born and reared on Patton Avenue in Gainsboro. Their parents had seven children; they were the only girls. Herbert, Clarence, Curtis, James and Roy Davis are their brothers. Their parents were hard workers and nurtured them to be the same. Their father worked for a Roanoke hardware business and their mother worked at Rathskeller Restaurant and later did domestic work. Having strong and loving parents can be the difference in a child’s failure or success.
Davis reminisces about being young girls sitting on the front porch of their Patton Avenue home and playing around the house in the dark. In an interview conducted by the Gainsboro Library, Davis shared her delight for playing Chinese checkers. Bethel speaks about as a young girl going to the Claytor property down the street and playing in their yard. They would roll down the hill at the Claytor estate and gaze at the goldfish in the pond.
For as long as they can remember, they have lived in and worked to keep Gainsboro a vibrant community. The gatekeepers of anything are vital to the sustainment of whatever they aim to protect. The gatekeeper seeks to control what happens and to make sure whatever is being protected does not wind up in the wrong hands. Preserving that history is important to the sisters because when one loses his or her history they lose themselves, they say. Sometimes they do not know how to function in a world if they do not know where they came from.
Years ago, the city of Roanoke like many other cities in the country began urban renewal, a government program aimed at land development. Under that program, land was seized to build institutions to benefit all citizens in that city. Many of the areas impacted by urban renewal in Roanoke were black communities. Bethel and Davis stood up for Gainsboro to protect its history.
“When people say forget the past, we need something to record our history, so it will be there, and we need to let them know about our doctors and what they did,” said Bethel. Speaking of Henry Street, she said, “It was always bustling with activity.” How can we get back to that kind of activity in our communities, she asked. The first step is to learn about the past and history. Bethel played a huge role in getting the area of Gainsboro designated as a historic district. Davis always says of her sister Evelyn that “Evelyn is really the one out of us two that fought hard to get the historic part.” Even to this day in 2018, 20 plus years later, Bethel is still writing articles to the papers about preserving the history. The sisters still attend meetings and gatherings and when the time comes to talk about neighborhood business or when businesses are trying to move into Gainsboro, they voice their opinions. Bethel even ran for city council once, in an attempt to give Gainsboro a voice at the political table.
I believe in giving people flowers while they are living, and these two women deserve a rose every time someone sees them. The gatekeepers. The sisters. The Davis sisters. The Twins. Helen Davis known by many as “Pete” and Mrs. Evelyn Bethel are treasures to Roanoke City, especially Gainsboro.
Tags: At the Feet of Our Elders
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