In collaboration with the Wichita Falls Alliance for Arts and Culture, and in celebration of African American History Month and Women’s History Month, Midwestern State University will host an exhibition that pays tribute to the life and legacy of Charlye Ola Farris. The exhibition will open Thursday, Jan. 27, in the Clark Student Center Atrium.

A reception will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 1, in the Atrium. It will be on display at MSU Texas until Feb. 11, when it will move to other locations in Wichita Falls.

Among her many trailblazing accomplishments, Farris was the first African American woman licensed to practice law in the Lone Star State, the first African American attorney in Wichita County, and the first African American to serve as a judge in the South since Reconstruction.

The exhibition explores a timeline of her life in context with the Civil Rights Movement and features profiles of other female African American pioneers in Wichita County. It is part of The Legends Project, a preservation project created by the Wichita Falls Alliance of Arts and Culture to highlight the contributions of African American leaders in the community.

EXHIBITION LOCATIONS

Jan. 27-Feb. 11: Midwestern State University, Clark Student Center, Wichita Falls.

Feb. 17-March 5: Martin Luther King Center, 110 Smith St., Wichita Falls.

March 10-March 26: Museum of North Texas History, 720 Indiana Ave., Wichita Falls.