On this day, March 3, 1890, teacher and civic activist Memphis Tennessee Garrison was born.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

This week in West Virginia history
West Virginia Humanities Council Mar 2, 2021

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March 3, 1890: Teacher and civic activist Memphis Tennessee Garrison was born in Virginia. She helped develop NAACP chapters in southern West Virginia and created the Christmas Seal Project.

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Memphis Tennessee Garrison



Born: Memphis Tennessee Carter; March 3, 1890; Hollins, Virginia
Died: July 25, 1988 (aged 98); Huntington, West Virginia

Memphis Tennessee Garrison (March 3, 1890- July 25, 1988) was an activist for African Americans and young women during the Jim Crow Era in rural West Virginia. Garrison was a McDowell County teacher and community mediator, famous for organizing West Virginia's third chapter of the Gary Branch of the NAACP in 1921. Additionally, from 1931-1946, Garrison was the community mediator for U.S. Steel Gary Mines. Some of Garrison's other notable achievements range from establishing the Gary Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, to organizing Girl Scout troops for African American girls, to creating a breakfast program from impoverished students during the Great Depression and finally to creating the "Negro Artist Series."

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