Graham was born in Middle Tennessee and attended public schools in Montgomery and Davidson counties and then as a Peabody scholar attended Fisk University. No other Black candidates were elected to the General Assembly until 1964. 20, 1897, the General Assembly passed a resolution declaring the seat vacant.

His opponent promptly called attention to the three-year residency requirement and challenged Graham’s eligibility to hold office. But just after the election, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported that Graham had lived in Louisville until October 1895. He was not only the first Black person chosen to represent Montgomery County, but also the first Republican representative elected in that district since Reconstruction – reportedly by “the largest vote ever cast for a legislative candidate” in the county. Graham was elected in early November 1896 to represent Montgomery County as a Republican in the Tennessee General Assembly. Graham (Contributed, Tennessee State Library and Archives) She also organized annual arts and craft exhibits at the county courthouse for a two-day display, reviewed by the school board.įirst local Black legislator, American Legion post founder Jesse M.H. She attended national conferences and brought back new training for her teachers, and she encouraged them to enroll in special summer college courses to improve their skills. In early years of her work, she would often ride by horse and buggy to visit rural schools, though in later years she was driven out by car with a hired driver. During the 1920s, Brown worked tirelessly to ensure strong education for rural children. Brown (later Susie Brown Farrar Tucker), born in the Rossview area, was an educator for 35 years, with 23 of those as Montgomery County’s first supervisor for Black county schools, a position she held in 1919. Boyd Elks Lodge 457, the name of the Montgomery County Court Center’s Bar Association Room and in the cornerstone of St.

Today, Boyd is memorialized in the name of the General Q. He was remembered in an otherwise hostile Leaf-Chronicle editorial as having “attained more prominence than any of his race has ever attained in this county.” Just days after his death, he had been scheduled to speak at the Nashville Centennial, where he was remembered as one of the best lawyers in Tennessee. 23, 1897, at only 32 years old, he was murdered by someone with a personal grudge. Not long after, Boyd became leader of the local Republican Party, standing up candidates for county office and being nominated to run for Congress. He appears to have started his local law practice in the early 1890s. He attended Wilberforce University and then studied at the Tennessee Supreme Court in the office of Justice Horace Lurton, and locally in the office of Cave Johnson. General Quarles (G.Q.) Boyd, born in 1865 with the first name “General,” was the first black attorney in Montgomery County and a leader in early efforts to organize Black political power. Ground-breaking attorney, early Republican leader General Quarles Boyd (Courtesy VintageClarksvilleTN) She is remembered in a historic marker at Mount Olive Cemetery. In 2007, Bell was honored with a $10,000 grant from USA Weekend magazine for a Make a Difference Day event that created scholarships to help people get their GED. The cemetery is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.īell moved to Clarksville in the 19990s from California, where she was active in 4-H programs and efforts to help at-risk youth. As early as 1998, Bell organized annual Make A Difference Day events in Clarksville with projects organized around a new community garden, health fairs, grandparent support, bone marrow donation and more. Bell founded the Mount Olive Cemetery Historical Preservation Society and solicited help over the years from Austin Peay State University, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ROTC groups and more. Among those buried there are freed slaves and 25 Black Civil War soldiers. It contains more than 1,300 graves, some dating to the early 1800s. She went to visit the Black cemetery off of Rollins Drive and was shocked to find it covered in debris and garbage, having been largely ignored and forgotten for decades. In 2001, when she was 60 years old, just a year after getting her GED, Bell was taking a history class at Austin Peay State University and learned out about Mount Olive Cemetery. Uncovered Mount Olive Cemetery Genevia Bell (Contributed)įor several years in Clarksville, Genevia (“Geneva”) Ann Bell was a one-woman whirlwind of advocacy and altruism. Here are 10 Black leaders (in alphabetical order) who during their lifetimes helped to shape our community and deserve to be remembered for their role in Clarksville history.

Jeremy means clarksville now