EVENT: 2021 ‘Commitment to Justice’ Award

From our friends at the Center for Heirs Property Preservation…

In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that ‘separate but equal’ segregation in schools was unconstitutional. Nearly a decade later, Charleston schools were still segregated, so an additional ‘Brown’ case was born – this one called ‘Millicent Brown et al. v. School District No. 20, Charleston, SC’.
This Brown case was brought by 13 Black children and their parents, with 12-year-old Millicent ultimately serving as the lead plaintiff. The Browns eventually won their case, and Millicent stepped into Rivers High School in September of 1963. Her presence was not exactly welcomed.

Millicent taught history for many years at Bennett College, Guilford College, North Carolina A & T, Hofstra University, and Claflin University. She has interviewed dozens of other ‘firsts’ like herself in a national research project called ‘Somebody Had To Do It,’ a collection of narratives of school desegregation pioneers. Another example of her oral history experience is the initiative, ‘Somebody Still Has To Do It,’ which advocates for prisoner reentry into society.

Having been one of many foot soldiers in the movement for social justice and spending a career sharing those experiences teaching that history and motivating a new generation, Millicent has watched as the inequity that marked her experience remains pervasive. “Don’t give me crumbs and call it a cake.”

The Center is indeed privileged to have this lifelong warrior and activist for civil rights, Dr. Millicent Brown, as the 2021 Commitment to Justice Award Honoree!   We appreciate your help and support for our critical mission.