Honoring historic Girl Scout troops
Scout leader Glennys Fleming, center, holds the resolution honoring Girl Scout Troops #34 and #35 that was presented Monday night by Richmond City Council to Ms. Fleming and several scouts from the troops sponsored by Ebenezer Baptist Church. Historic Troop #34, the first African-American troop in the South, was chartered in March 1932 after Emma Watson wanted her daughter to participate in scouting as she had before moving to Richmond from Chicago. With the support of influential Richmond women such as Maggie L. Walker and Lena Watson, dean of students at Virginia Union University, Ms. Watson advocated for the local Girl Scouts council to create a local African-American troop. It met at VUU. In 1936, Troop #35 was established at Ebenezer Baptist Church, which began sponsoring Troop #34 in 2015.
