Davis toured Europe with the Bates College debating team. He was among the first African-American men to be sent overseas under the auspices of the American University Union to engage in international debate; his team from Bates met and defeated Cambridge University. While an undergraduate at Bates College, Davis was nominated for a Rhodes scholarship. He contributed short stories to "The Crisis", official magazine of the NAACP, and "", published by the National Urban League. His short story "The Overcoat" was a prize-winner in "Opportunity"s 1926–27 literary contest.