4 minute read
Vendor Writing: Flowers for Josephine Groves Holloway
Flowers for Josephine Groves Holloway
BY BY JEN A.
Yes, I was a Girl Scout for many years. And NO, I didn't need to Google the words to the song. They are forever and always preserved in my brain. Recently, a young friend of mine sent me a sales-pitch video to ask that I please buy some Girl Scout cookies from her. It got me to thinking about how the Girl Scouts have changed and endured for so many years. I schlepped a cardboard carton full of Thin Mints and trefoils around town in the cold knocking on doors back in the day. Now they are making sales videos on their phones. I wonder if there's a badge for that.
This being Black History month, I was curious to know if a young Black girl had always had the opportunity to put that big, beautiful, Girl Scout smile on her face here in Nashville. Tennessee has a notorious history of racism and segregation. It couldn't have been easy to organize a troop for Black girls under those conditions.
There's an Historical Marker out on Granny White Pike that the girls of Girl Scout troop 1347 lobbied the Historical Commission for that pays tribute to Josephine Groves Holloway, the Black woman who fought long and hard to establish Girl Scout troops for Black girls here in Nashville. She exemplified every bit of the courage, confidence, and character, that troop leaders hope, to this day, to instill in the young girls of our community.
Holloway began her quest to establish official Girl Scout troops for Black girls in 1933 but was told by the Nashville Girl Scout Council that they would not approve Black troops. Because of strict segregation in Tennessee at the time, they thought having two separate groups would be too expensive. Undaunted, Josephine formed an unofficial troop and encouraged her friends to do the same. She met with and organized her troop under the guidance of Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of the original scouting organization. Low travelled tirelessly throughout the states to advocate for her burgeoning organization and did not object to the idea of Black girls forming troops.
Holloway became such an effective troop leader, that in 1942, the Nashville Council finally relented and welcomed Josephine's girls into the organization officially. Within 18 months she had formed 13 new "Black district" troops. In 1944 she became the first Black woman hired by the council. Through the years she served as field advisor, district director, and camp director.
In 1955, Camp Holloway, a camping experience for Black Girl Scouts located in Millersville, TN, was dedicated in her honor. Today, the camp welcomes all campers regardless of their skin color. After the Nashville Girl Scout Council was finally totally desegregated in 1963, Josephine retired, took off her trefoil, and went home satisfied that her life's work of guiding young Black girls with an unfaltering example of Black strength and pride had been accomplished. Josephine Groves Holloway deserves all of the flowers we can offer.
So should you receive a truly charming video, email, or phone request from a very dedicated and ambitious young Girl Scout of Middle Tennessee asking that you please buy some of her sweet, yummy Girl Scout cookies, reward all of the positive qualities she's learning from the excellent troop leaders of today. Encourage a budding Tennessee entrepreneur. Do good! Eat cookies! That's a pretty good deal!
