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Viola Harris McFerren

Viola Harris McFerren (Benton County, c. October 1931 - April 2013) was a civil rights activist in Fayette County, Tennessee who went on to found the Fayette County Civic and Welfare League Inc., to later be renamed the Original Fayette Civic Welfare League Inc. McFerren had made several notable impacts on education at the same, having drafted the first proposal to develop a program in the country which later received federal funding to support kindergarten and adult schooling programs and later file suit against the County Board of Education (known as the McFerren v. County Board of Education of Fayette County Tennessee" ) which had resulted in the dismantlement of three “racially identifiable schools” and the construction of a new school and schooling policies.

Birth and family McFerren had been born to Joseph T. Harris and Rose Etta Webb Harris on October 19, 1931 as the eleventh of twelve children in Benton County, Massachusetts. At nineteen years old, McFerren came to marry John McFerren, an activist in Fayette County, Tennessee. While working alongside him and many others as activists in Fayette County, McFerren had mothered her five children: John McFerren, Jr., Jacqueline McFerren, Claudia McFerren-Jones, Daphne R. McFerren, and Harris N. McFerren.

Activism In the late 1960, the early civil rights struggle had caused for many black families across Fayette and later Haywood County to settle together on shared land, forming a makeshift community came to be known as "Tent Cities." Within Fayette County, over 400 African-American families had been evicted as a result of the increased unemployment dictated by white community members. African-American farm owner Shephard Towles had allowed for many of these evicted families to settle in tends on his property, housing approximately 257 black families. McFerren and her husband had lead the distribution of resources like clothing and food across the county as to draw national attention to the struggles of the "Tent City" communities. Eventually the couple had opened a "grocery store/gas station" in Somerville, Tennessee due to the inaccessibility the black community faced in the area.

The couple's work in Tennessee had eventually resulted in a national response carried out by President John Kennedy to send food to Tent City and other African-Americans facing similar struggle.

Original Fayette Civic Welfare League Inc. In 1959, McFerren had gone on to co-found the Fayette County Civic and Welfare League Inc (now known as the Original Fayette County Civic and Welfare League Inc.) which aimed to develop voter-registration but grew to include integration of schools and public facilities and the access to financial resources and opportunities for the black community. Within the program, McFerren had drafted the first proposal for a Head Start program in Fayette County which went to receive federal funding for public education programs.

Other Work In the late 1960's, McFerren had been appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson to serve on the National Advisory Committee of the U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity and nationally recognized by President Richard Nixon and George H.W. Bush and received the 1992 Women of Achievement in Heroism Award from the Women of Achievement organization. And alongside her national work and acknowledgement, McFerren had been active in several community causes as she had helped found the Fayette County Economic Development Commission.