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Guide to the Harold K. Brown Papers
MS-0436
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Table of contents
Collection Title: Harold K. Brown Papers
Dates: 1956-2000
Bulk Dates: 1963-1965, 1990s
Identification: MS-0436
Creator:
Brown, Harold K., 1934-
Physical Description: 4.59 linear ft
Language of Materials:
English
Repository:
Special Collections & University Archives
5500 Campanile Dr. MC 8050
San Diego, CA, 92182-8050
URL: http://library.sdsu.edu/scua
Email: scref@rohan.sdsu.edu
Phone: 619-594-6791
Note:
Other Information:
Materials in this collection were processed with a generous donation from Harold K. Brown.
Additional information may be found at http://library.sdsu.edu/exhibits/2009/01/creatingcommunity/index.shtml
Born in 1934 and the youngest of seven siblings, Harold Brown, also known as Hal, grew up in York, Pennsylvania, a small working-class
town. After graduating high school, Brown attended Penn State, but left after his first semester in order to play minor league
baseball with the St. Louis Browns. After sustaining an injury, Brown moved to San Diego in 1953 to attend San Diego State
College on a basketball scholarship. His studies were interrupted by two years of military service, but he returned to SDSC
and finished his degree in physical education and speech. Upon graduating in 1961, Brown began a six-year teaching career
at a local junior high school. During this time, he also became extremely active in the San Diego Civil Rights Movement.
Brown was also a member of the El Cajon Valley Open Housing Committee, which sought to integrate neighborhoods in El Cajon
and La Mesa. In addition, he helped to found and chair the local chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). This
organization fought unfair employment practices, and organized civil rights marches, demonstrations and sit-ins across San
Diego.
Later, Brown became the Deputy Director for the US Peace Corps in Lesotho. In 1971, he returned from Africa and became California
State University's Assistant to the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Assistant to the Vice President for Administration,
making him the first African-American administrator at San Diego State. Later, he was the Associate Dean of Planning and
Director of the Afro-American Studies Program, which he helped to establish. He hired many of the department's faculty and
helped create the program's curriculum. In 1973, he was appointed Director of Campus Information Systems. Afterward, he
became the Associate Dean for External Relations in the College of Business Administration. As Associate Dean, he developed
a certificate program in community economic development and founded the Center for Community Economic Development (CCED).
The purpose of the program was to create economic self-reliance in poorer communities, such as southeast San Diego, by offering
classes in accounting, computers, financial planning, and leadership. The CCED also provided resources and consulting for
community groups. It was one of only a handful of such programs in the United States. Brown retired in 1997, but continued
consulting until 2004. Harold Brown has been the recipient of numerous awards both for his service to the university and
to the community.
This collection is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.
Congress of Racial Equality
San Diego State University
Audio Recordings
Personal Papers
Photographs
Publications
Slides
African Americans -- California -- San Diego
Civil rights -- California -- San Diego
Civil rights movements -- California -- San Diego -- History -- 20th century -- Sources
Community development -- California -- San Diego
The copyright interests in these materials have been transferred to San Diego State University. Copyright resides with the
creators of materials contained in the collection or their heirs. The nature of historical archival and manuscript collections
is such that copyright status may be difficult or even impossible to determine. Requests for permission to publish must be
submitted to the Head of Special Collections, San Diego State University, Library and Information Access. When granted, permission
is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical item and is not intended to include or imply permission
of the copyright holder(s), which must also be obtained in order to publish. Materials from our collections are made available
for use in research, teaching, and private study. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including
but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials.
This collection is open for research.
Identification of item, folder title, box number, Harold K. Brown Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Library
and Information Access, San Diego State University.
Leon Williams Papers, 1961-2006
Reverend George Walker Smith Papers, 1950-2000
Carlin Integration Case Records, 1950-1997
School Integration Task Force Records, 1974-1983
Center for Community Economic Development Records, 1963-2006
Citizens Coordinate for Century 3 Records, 1961-1980
Filed alphabetically by folder description.
The
Harold K. Brown Papers (1956-2000) document Brown's participation in the local Civil Rights Movement, his dedication to community economic development,
and his professional life, with a heavy emphasis on the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), Brown's role in the School Integration
Task Force, and his involvement with the Black Economic Development Task Force. Highlights include the Congress of Racial
Equality's actions against the employment practices of the San Diego Zoo, SDG&E, Montgomery Ward, and Bank of America. Filed
alphabetically by folder description, the collection consists of correspondence, reports, meeting minutes, slides, reel-to-reels
of the "Viewpoint" program on KSDO Radio, and photographs. In addition, the collection's extensive newspaper clippings include
articles from and full issues of
The Voice,
The San Diego Light House, the
San Diego Monitor, and
Logan Heights' Independent. The majority of materials date from 1963 to 1966, and the mid-1990s.