For four years, Mrs. Ferguson dutifully presented herself as a prospective DAR member.  It was not until her struggle appeared on the front page of The Washington Post, March 12, 1984, that the DAR would entertain her application to join a local chapter in the District of Columbia. 

The group was threatened with the loss of its real estate tax exemption on Constitution Hall. 

She experienced many brushes with subtle and not-so-subtle racism. Her persistence highlighted the role that blacks played in founding America. 

She paved the way for other black women by forcing the DAR to bar membership discrimination and identify all the black soldiers of the Revolutionary War.