Lost Voices

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• Ancella Bickley

• Memphis T. Garrison

• Jan Smith

• Maudella Taylor

EFFECT ON COMMUNITY

Memphis Tennessee Garrison's efforts contributed to the betterment of community locally, regionally in the state of West Virginia, nationally and globally. Active in all areas of education, she began the Parent Teachers Association at the school where she taught, was the first woman president of the West Virginia State Teachers Association, and vice president of the American Teachers Association. Garrison was also politically active as chairperson of the Colored Woman's Division of the Republican Party, as a member of the Eastern Planning Board and the National and State Advisory Committee for Colored Voters. Known as a champion for human and civil rights, she organized the first NAACP branches in Southern West Virginia. She initiated and sponsored the "Freedom Seals" project, which has grossed over one million dollars for legal defense. As vice-president of the NAACP in 1963, she became the first woman elected to the national level. In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson appointed her to the National Citizen Committee for Community Relations. In addition, Garrison was part of the first Human Rights Commission ever established in West Virginia. In 1988, she received the "Governor's Living the Dream Award" which annually honors the citizen who best exemplifies the principles and goals of Martin Luther King. While in the coal camps of McDowell County, Garrison began a Black Artist's Series, which brought nationally recognized speakers and entertainers to the region. Another way in which she provided for the leisure of her community was by helping to create a recreation center which consisted of a swimming pool, pavilion, picnic grounds, pool room and bowling alleys. Orchestras, dancing and roller skating were also enjoyed at this center. Memphis Tennessee Garrison received many awards for her service to the African American community, such as the Walker Medal, the T. G. Nutter Award, and the highest adult award in Girl Scouting… the Thanks Award. She earned many honors and was personally acquainted with famous people such as criminal lawyer Clarence Darrow, poet James Weldon Johnson, Jackie Robinson and W. E. B. DuBois. On a global scale, Garrison initiated the sending of 1500 textbooks from Cabell County public schools, to Nigeria, in 1961. As project chairperson for the Huntington Homemakers Club, she was recognized by Congressman Ken Hechler for sending the first gift from the United States to the New Republic of Nigeria. In 1969, she raised funds which provided over $2,000 worth of food to hungry black children in Mississippi. Truly, Memphis Tennessee Garrison's contributions are numerous and varied. In 1988 her life ended, but the fruits of her labor are with us still.

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