Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2016-010
Michael Davidson served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya from 1964 to 1966 as a land settlement officer. He joined after graduating from law school, and trained at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee with the Kenya I group. Davidson was assigned to the Kipipiri settlement scheme in the Kinangop Plateau region of Kenya. Settlement schemes were designed to foster a peaceful transfer of farmland from European colonialists to native Kenyans after the country's recent independence. As a land settlement officer, he helped administer the property and provided agricultural, health, and veterinary support to the local farmers. After the first year, Davidson transferred to another settlement scheme as a cooperative aide. After the Peace Corps, he worked as a civil rights lawyer with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and as legal counsel for the U.S. Senate. Interviewed and recorded by Evelyn Ganzglass, November 11, 2015. 1 digital audio file.