The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History Interview with Rachel Hall Brown




Overview of the Item

Repository: The HistoryMakers
1900 S. Michigan Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60616
(312) 674-1900
info@thehistorymakers.com
http://www.thehistorymakers.com
Interviewer: Racine Tucker-Hamilton
Videographer: Edgar Carey Lane
Title:Video Oral History Interview with Rachel Hall Brown
Dates:June 03, 2004
Abstract: (ABSTRACT)
Quantity: 4 Betacam SP videocassettes, 1 half-Hollinger box containing (NUMBER) folders of accompanying materials.
Identification: A2004.062
Language: The interviews and records are in English

Biographical Note

Lifelong educator Rachel Hall Brown was born on November 16, 1912 in Glen Burnie, Maryland. Her mother was a homemaker and her father sold produce that he grew on their farm. She grew up the fourth of fourteen children. As she grew older, she was sent to live with relatives in nearby Baltimore because Glen Burnie did not have a high school for blacks to attend. She attended and graduated from Douglas High School in Baltimore in 1928. Douglas is also the alma mater of former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and entertainers Cab Callaway and Ann Brown.

Upon graduation she planned to attend Morgan State University, but was unable to due to financial reasons. Instead she attended Coppin State University where she earned her degree and graduated in 1930. She received her first teaching assignment upon graduation at Skidmore School in Anne County where she taught first, second and third grades. In 1932, Brown was reassigned to Jones school where she met and married her husband Philip, who was the principal of the two-room school where they both worked. Shortly after her marriage she and her husband attended classes at Morgan State University where both earned their bachelor's degrees in education. In 1938, her husband led the effort to sue the Anne Arundel Board of Education for equal pay for African American teachers. The teachers were represented by former Supreme Court Justice, Thurgood Marshall. In 1955, Brown earned her master's degree in education from New York University.

In 1966, Brown helped to integrate Anne Arundel County Public schools when she was one of the first black teachers assigned to teach at Tyler Heights School. In 1970, Brown was appointed to the "White House Conference on Children and Youth," an organization that promotes understanding of child development and fostering children's mental and emotional health. Brown retired from the school system in 1973.

Brown and her husband Philip have two grown children and reside in Annapolis.

Biographical Note by The HistoryMakers®


Scope and Contents

This life oral history interview with Rachel Hall Brown was conducted by Racine Tucker-Hamilton on 2004-06-03 in Annapolis, Maryland and is recorded on 4 30-minute Betacam SP videocassettes. Access copies exist on Betacam SP, VHS, DVD and MPEG-1. The interview contains information on (COMPLETE ONE SENTENCE DESCRIPTION OF INTERVIEW). Accompanying materials in the collection include Rachel Hall Brown's correspondence with The HistoryMakers® related to the interview; a copy of the signed release form and the production report; the biographical information used by the interviewer to prepare for the interview (DETAILS); paper copies of the interview transcripts, 3 1/2" floppy disks with electronic copies of the transcripts; selected quotes for video clips; photocopies of photographs captured on video; XML files with metadata created in editing and cataloguing the interview for The HistoryMakers Digital Video Library; and paper copies of these XML files.


Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

Access to paper records is restricted. Other restrictions may be applied on a case-by-case basis.

Restrictions on Use

All use of materials must be pre-approved by The HistoryMakers® and appropriate credit must be given. All use credits must be pre-approved by The HistoryMakers®. Copyright is held by The HistoryMakers®.


Index Terms

This record series is indexed under the following controlled access terms.
Contributors:
Brown, Rachel Hall
Lane, Edgar Carey
Tucker-Hamilton, Racine
Persons:
(PERSONS)
Corporate Bodies:
(CORPORATE BODIES)
Family Names:
Brown
Places:
(PLACES)
Subjects:
(SUBJECTS)
Document Types:
Video oral history interview
Titles:
The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History Interview with Rachel Hall Brown


Related Material

Accompanying materials: Accompanying materials are filed in (NUMBER) folders in a half-Hollinger box and shelved at The HistoryMakers® Archives and Collection Library by accession number, separately from the videos.


Administrative Information

Location of Originals

Betacam, VHS, DVD and MPEG-1 access copies are held for in-house use at The HistoryMakers®; Betacam SP, VHS and DVD playback hardware is provided for in-house viewing of the access copies; MPEG-1 copies are searchable and viewable via a digital video database.

Preferred Citation

The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History Interview with Rachel Hall Brown, June 03, 2004. The HistoryMakers® African American Video Oral History Collection, 1900 S. Michigan Avenue Chicago, Illinois.


Detailed Description/Tape Listings

Video Oral History Interview with Rachel Hall Brown, Tape 1, June 03, 2004, TRT: 00:30:33.

Educator Rachel Hall Brown discusses her family's Eastern Shore heritage. She recalls daily family life and tells stories of how her mother and father influenced her as they reared the family. Rachel Hall Brown discusses her relationship with each of her siblings.



Video Oral History Interview with Rachel Hall Brown, Tape 2, June 03, 2004, TRT: 00:30:23.

Educator Rachel Hall Brown describes her childhood community and then recalls her elementary school experiences. She describes how religion played an important role in her life before remembering her high school years at Frederick Douglass in Baltimore, Maryland. Brown also talks about well-known classmates at Douglass. Rachel Hall Brown tells of her college aspirations and discusses her early days at Coppin State University. Finally, Brown talks about her first teaching job.



Video Oral History Interview with Rachel Hall Brown, Tape 3, June 03, 2004, TRT: 00:30:06.

Educator Rachel Hall Brown discusses years spent as a teacher at Skidmore School in Maryland. She recalls her courtship with her now husband Philip Brown. Brown tells the story of a missed opportunity to teach in Baltimore and how it could've changed her entire life. Next, she details teaching during the period between Brown v. the Board of Education and actual integration. In 1966 the Anne Arundel County schools were integrating and Rachel Hall Brown shares her thoughts on the process. She then discusses the changes needed in elementary school education.



Video Oral History Interview with Rachel Hall Brown, Tape 4, June 03, 2004, TRT: 00:18:16.

Educator Rachel Hall Brown discusses her involvement in the White House's 1970 Children and Youth conference. She shares her opinions on current educational issues such as No Child Left Behind and school vouchers. Next, Brown talks about the need for mothers to stay home and nurture their children before going back to work. Rachel Hall Brown reflects on her career and offers advice to educators.