Feb 6, 2019 Orange County Review
And now, as promised last week, so as not to let the Boy Scouts have all the headlines, please enjoy a little history about the Girl Scouts.
First, I should share my bias as a former Brownie and then full-fledged Girl Scout. We met once a week and on those days I would stop in at Knakals Bakery (in Culpeper) on the walk from school to the meeting and buy three or four donut holes. That was all I could afford, but it was a heavenly treat! The meetings were a time to socialize but more importantly, they were an opportunity to learn some of life’s best practices—we were driven by a mandate to be prepared. We worked on achieving badges, planning camping trips and learning skills. I cannot, in all honesty, say we learned survival skills, but rather the means and methods of taking care of ourselves, including how to build a fire, how to cook on a tin can, basic first aid and planning, lots of planning.
I loved it! I never thought of Girl Scouts as anything but wonderful until my former husband confessed to me that he thought Girl Scouts was a radical organization designed to turn girls into instigators, rebels and troublemakers. Poor, misguided soul. In hindsight, I believe he was right at least about the desire to develop girls into independent thinkers. But enough for now about my personal experience in scouting.
There is a deep history to Girl Scouts that began in Savannah, Georgia, with Juliette Low. She was determined that this first troop founded in 1912 and all those to come would span class, ethnicity, culture and race—the Girl Scout movement would belong to all girls. Despite her plans and good intentions, this inclusivity did not exist everywhere. However, the first fully integrated troop was formed in 1913 in Massachusetts and the first all-Black Girl Scout Troop was formed in 1917. Low’s Girl Scouts were ahead of their time in striving for multicultural/racial/religious diversity and without debate outpaced their brothers in scouting. The Girl Scout mission says it all: “Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character ,who make the world a better place.”
“In 1969, Girl Scouts launched “Action 70,” a nationwide effort to overcome prejudice and build better relationships among persons of all ages, religions and races. In 1975, Dr. Gloria D. Scott served as the first African-American national board president and the public face of Girl Scouts.” Radicals? Maybe. Leaders? Definitely.
Low’s vision grew to include millions of girls nationally and globally. The Girl Scout movement is alive and well and “today includes 2.6 million Girl Scouts (1.8 million girls and 800,000 adults) in 92 countries and more than 50 million alums,” according to the Girl Scouts website. They still sell cookies, earn badges, plan camping trips and engage in making the world a better place.
In researching material for this article, I came across an interesting acronym that is their trademark now. It might explain my former husband’s acknowledged trepidation regarding Girl Scouts. GIRL: Go-getter, Innovator, Risk-taker, leader.
Until next week, be well.
Have a look at these sites for more reading:
GSBLOG (2017) Black History Month: Girl Scouts’ Legacy of Inclusivity, http://blog.girlscouts.org/2017/02/black-history-month-girl-scouts-legacy.html
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