Memphis Tennessee Garrison: The Remarkable Story of a Black Appalachian Woman

by Joe W. Trotter (Epilogue), Ancella R. Bickley (Editor), Lynda Ann Ewen (Editor)

"As a black Appalachian woman, Memphis Tennessee Garrison belonged to a group triply ignored by historians." "The daughter of former slaves, she moved with her family to McDowell County, West Virginia, at an early age. The coalfields of McDowell County were among the richest in the nation, and Garrison grew up surrounded by black workers who were the backbone of West Virginia's early mining work force - those who laid the railroad tracks, manned the coke ovens, and dug the coal. These workers and their families created communities that became the centers of black political activity - both in the struggle for the union and in the struggle for local political control. Memphis Tenessee Garrison, as a political organizer, and ultimately as vice president of the National Board of the NAACP at the height of the civil rights movement (1963-66), was at the heart of these efforts." "Based on transcripts of interviews recorded in 1969, Garrison's oral history is a rich, rare, and compelling story. It portrays African American life in West Virginia in an era when Garrison and other courageous community members overcame great obstacles to improve their working conditions, to send their children to school and then to college, and otherwise to enlarge and enrich their lives."--BOOK JACKET.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History

249 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 2001

Reviews

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Memphis Tennessee Garrison, a teacher and NAACP activist from the West Virginia coalfields, tells the story of her extraordinary life. The child and grandchild of former slaves, Garrison saw much and was possessed of a remarkable memory. Her stories about finding the rope from a lynching, feeding hungry children so they could learn at school, and dealing with race problems in the coalfields gave me an immediate sense of that time and place, something that I have looked for in other publications, but was not able to find until I read this book. Garrison was compassionate, smart, fearless, hardworking, and driven by a sense of mission larger than herself. She served "her people," motivated by concern and caring for the tragedies of young men who were victimized by southern racists and an unjust legal system. Most interesting were her comments about the civil rights movement and the UMW. She does not seem to have identified closely with techniques like nonviolent protest, arrests, and legal challenges, which brought progress forward in the 1960s. Perhaps it's because she was a leader, a negotiator and facilitator, a political operator who made things better through skill and being completely trustworthy. The young had other ways and eventually her role was diminished. So she moved on to organize other programs, including Girl Scout troops in West Virginia. Meeting Garrison in these pages, the reader can easily imagine how compelling she must have been in person, and it's wonderful to think of her impact upon these young Scouts.

Linda Ewen gives insightful commentary. Ancella Bickley edited the oral history transcript into something as dramatic as a feature film. I also appreciated Joe Trotter's historical afterward, which provided helpful context to Garrison's life story.