Charlye Ola Farris (1929-2010) was

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

’ first

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

female lawyer. She was born on June 30, 1929, in

Wichita Falls, Texas Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the seat of government of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita counties. Accordin ...

, to educators James Randolph Farris, Sr. and Roberta Bell. Upon earning her political science degree from Prairie View A&M College in 1948, she worked briefly as an educator before pursuing a career in law. She received her legal education firstly from the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private university, private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Mountain States, Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is ...

and secondly at the

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

She graduated with a law degree from the latter institution in 1953. Farris was the first African American female admitted to practice law in Texas the same year. Thereafter, she became the first female lawyer in her hometown of Wichita Falls. She also became the first African American female to serve as the Special Wichita County Judge in 1954. In 1973, she served in a judicial capacity yet again as the acting District Judge of the 78th District Court in Wichita County. Farris died on February 18, 2010 in Wichita Falls. In 2011, the

Texas Historical Commission The Texas Historical Commission is an agency dedicated to historic preservation within the state of Texas. It administers the National Register of Historic Places for sites in Texas. The commission also identifies Recorded Texas Historic La ...

erected a marker to celebrate Farris’ legacy. Scholarships have also been created throughout Texas in Farris’ honor. For instance, the Travis County Women’s Lawyer Association created a scholarship in the honor of both Farris and Edna Cisneros.

Midwestern State University Midwestern State University (MSU Texas) is a public liberal arts university in Wichita Falls, Texas. In 2020 it had 5,141 undergraduate students. It is the state's only public institution focused on the liberal arts. History Founded in 1922 as ...

announced at the May 6, 2021, board meeting, the naming of the new Charlye O. Farris Social Justice Resource Center. Farris was a member of the MSU Texas Board of Regents from 2006 to 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farris, Charlye O. Texas lawyers Howard University School of Law alumni 1929 births 2010 deaths People from Wichita Falls, Texas 20th-century American lawyers Prairie View A&M University alumni 20th-century American women lawyers 21st-century American women

See also

References