Camp REACH is only the latest effort to improve literacy in Chattanooga. Mary Walker Foundation Executive Director Adrian Edwards said the foundation’s next big idea is to open a charter school.
“We have bigger plans in the future other than just holding a summer camp,” said Edwards. “Eventually we want to start a charter school in honor of Mary (Hardway) Walker.”
The school will focus on African American history and stress the importance of never giving up on goals. It will honor Mary Walker who became known as “the nation’s oldest student,” when she learned to read at the age of 116. She died at age 121 in 1969. And Mary Walker Towers Apartments located at 2501 S. Market St. was named in her honor.
She came to Chattanooga in 1917 and first lived many years in a flat at 1812 Baldwin St. before moving to Mary Walker Towers apartments. City of Chattanooga officials gave her the key to the city and she was recognized by Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon for her literary achievements. She lived from slavery to the civil rights movement.
Edwards proposes having the school at 3031 Wilcox Blvd., the original site of the Mary Walker Foundation. The site will also include a museum, bookstore and event hall. The idea for a school is in its beginning stages. Edwards said he doesn’t have a tentative date yet for the school to begin or an estimated cost.
Camp REACH journalism student Taylor Mitchell, a junior at Central High, said the school is needed.
“I think it’s a good program for people my age to get out of their comfort zone, to get out of their shell and experience new things,” said Taylor, 15.
“It gives more opportunity to learn about our past and help us not to repeat it,” she said. “And if it does happen, we’ll know what to do and how to act.”
The National Park Service is partnering with the foundation to develop the land, said Edwards. The vision is to have a fountain surrounded by great historical figures relevant to the African American community in Chattanooga.
“So right now that’s why we’re raising money,” said Edwards. “We’re going to constantly be raising money throughout the year so we can reach our goal.”
Get Involved: To donate go to https://marywalkerfoundation.org
By Tyson Armour, 16
Camp REACH student journalist
(Camp REACH is a program of the Mary Walker Foundation)