Memphis Garrison's Education and Career

Lost Voices

Back to Home Page

Community Shaping
Women

EDUCATION AND CAREER

Memphis Tennessee Garrison began her education at about six years of age. She loved to read as a child. She would go to the library, in the house where her mother worked, and read. My mother would send me to the library to dust off the books...I would stay so long she would come to see where I was...I'd read half the books she sent me in there to dust...I read everything I could find, whether I understood it or not. Memphis was quite intelligent and was a straight A student in high school.

Memphis completed her undergraduate studies at Bluefield State College, West Virginia State College, and Ohio University. She received her bachelor's degree in 1939 from Bluefield State College, graduating magna cum laude. Upon receiving her bachelor's degree, she began teaching. At first, she taught in a one-room school for a year and a half. She was then able to move on to bigger schools. Memphis taught for approximately 40 years before she ultimately stopped teaching and went into political work.

While Memphis was teaching, she pushed for the advancement in the schooling of black children. At that time, white children were attending school for longer periods of time than the black children. She pushed for the time to be equal and she was successful.

Memphis thought that to be a good teacher, you had to be kind to the children and be able to communicate with them. She states you relate to you children in their experiences at home, then you relate it in the learning process. She used stories and songs to teach a sense of optimism. There's a song, "Accentuate the Positive" and I wanted to tell kids how necessary that was. She also showed her outstanding teaching skills by taking time to work with the children with learning disabilities to ensure they also received a proper education. Memphis credits the success of her career to the students she taught over the years. I don't have any regrets about teaching...I think all of my success was because of the relationship that I had with the children...I wish it could have lasted longer.