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Adolphine Fletcher Terry (1882–1976) was an American political and social activist in the state of Arkansas. Terry leveraged her position within the Little Rock community to affect change in causes related to social justice, women's rights, racial equality, housing, and education. Fletcher is most remembered for her role on the Women's Emergency Committee to Open Our Schools (WEC) that was primarily responsible for reopening the Little Rock, Arkansas, public school system and bringing to a close the school district closing in 1958, following the Crisis at Little Rock Central High. In its "Millennium Poll" in 2000, the Arkansas Historical Association named Terry one of the state's 15 most significant figures in state history.

Early life and education
Terry was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, on November 3, 1882 to a socially and politically prominent family. She was the daughter of John Gould Fletcher, an Arkansas native and Confederate officer who became one of the South's leading cotton brokers and a prominent banker. He was elected Pulaski County sheriff, served as mayor of Little Rock from 1875 to 1881 and was unsuccessful in three bids for governor and one for Congress. Terry's mother was Adolphine Krause Fletcher, daughter of a Little Rock merchant and a German immigrant. Terry had two younger sibilings: Pulitzer Prize-winning poet John Gould Fletcher and suffragist Mary Fletcher.

When Terry's mother was young, her mother became ill, and she was compelled to leave school and abandon her pursuit of a career in music to care for her siblings. Because of this experience, Adolphine Krause became highly protective of her own children and encouraged educational achievements. She often overdressed her children in layers of heavy cotton fabric, even in the heat of summer, and feared them

In her unpublished autobiography, Terry recalled an early "lesson in justice" that influenced her view of race relations. A cousin accused a young black house servant of stealing a diamond ring and demanded his arrest, only to find it hidden in the ruffles of her dress. At a time when such a charge would likely end in mob justice for the accused,

Like many privileged women of her time, Terry entered college at the early age of 15 after graduating Peabody High School in 1898. Following the wishes of her mother, Terry became only the second Arkansan to attend the pestigious Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. Vassar's curriculum engaged Terry with community issues of her time, taught her to think independently and planted a seed for social activism in her life. . She also credits the influence of classmate Lucy Burns -- who would go on to become one of the key figures to win passage of the 19th Amendment -- for imparting a different view of race than she learned from her Southern upbringing. Terry graduated in 1902 and returned to Arkansas "... ready to change the world and she kept trying until her dying day to do it," according to her friend Judge Edwin Dunaway.

Women's suffrage movement
In addition to her expanded views on race, Terry had a direct connection with the suffrage movement, in part, through her friendship with Vassar classmate Lucy Burns. As early as 1910, there is evidence of her involvement in a letter she wrote to Senator James P. Clarke to request an audience with "the representatives of the equal suffrage society" on their visit to Washinton, D.C. Terry's sister Mary created the Political Equality League in 1911, kicking off a new wave of support for women's suffrage in the state. Both sisters were active in the organization, which sponsored educational efforts and lobbied for legislative changes pertaining to women's suffrage, although no measures passed during that year's General Assembly. Terry also participated in the Political Equality League that approached the legislature in Arkansas four separate times before they were able to persuade them to allow women to vote in the state's primary elections. in January1916 Terry presided over a Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage conference that convened at the Marion Hotel in Little Rock. CU founder Alice Paul spoke at the convention to garner support for an Arkansas chapter. The organization voted Terry to serve on the national advisory board of the CU and ex-officio member of the Arkansas executive committee.