The Calvert County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) invites the public to attend the ribbon cutting and dedication of the Harriet Elizabeth Brown Interim Community Center in Prince Frederick Tuesday, March 1 at 901 Dares Beach Road. The open house begins at 3 p.m., with the ribbon cutting at 3:30 p.m. The public is invited to tour the facility and learn more about Brown. Light refreshments will be served. RSVP or for questions, contact Norma Formy-Duval, 410-535-1600 ext. 2234 or email formydnk@cal.co.md.us
The BOCC purchased the property at 901 Dares Beach Road from Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative, Inc., last fall and earlier this year, voted to name the remodeled facility after Harriet Elizabeth Brown.
Brown was a Calvert County resident and teacher when she and her 29-year-old NAACP attorney, Thurgood Marshall, filed a lawsuit in 1937 demanding that all teachers, regardless of race, color or where they taught, receive the same compensation for the same work. They won the case and paved the way for the Maryland Teachers Pay Equalization Law. Brown’s case was a turning point to equalize pay for African-American teachers, not just in Calvert County, but across the United States.
“We are proud that Harriet Elizabeth Brown’s legacy will live on in Calvert County through this new community center,” said County Commissioner Patrick Nutter, who also served on the Harriet Elizabeth Brown Commemorative Task Force. The task force was signed into law last May by Gov. Larry Hogan, with the mission to make recommendations to the Governor, the Maryland General Assembly and the BOCC on ways to honor Brown and her historic efforts.