Curlee Brown Sr. (born 1909) was an African-American activist who served as the President for the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

's Paducah chapter. He is known for launching a legal case that resulted in the integration of what would become the

West Kentucky Community and Technical College West Kentucky Community and Technical College (WKCTC) is a public community college in Paducah, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) and was formed by the 2003 consolidation of Paducah Community Coll ...

Early life and education

Curlee Brown Sr. was born in 1909 in

Hollandale, Mississippi Hollandale is a city in Washington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 2,323 at the 2020 census. History Hollandale was named for Dr. Holland, the original owner of the town site. Hollandale was incorporated in 1890, and alm ...

to Dave and Dora Brown. After his parents divorced he moved with his father to

Helena, Arkansas Helena is the eastern portion of Helena–West Helena, Arkansas, a city in Phillips County, Arkansas, located on the west bank of the Mississippi River. It was founded in 1833 by Nicholas Rightor and is named after the daughter of Sylvanus Phil ...

and then

Paducah, Kentucky Paducah ( ) is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in the Upland South, and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. The most populous city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located in the Southeastern Unit ...

, where he stayed for the remainder of his life. Brown Sr. went on to attend the Western Kentucky Industrial College and the Western Kentucky Vocational School, where he studied carpentry and cabinet making.

Activism

In 1940 Brown Sr. became the president of the Paducah NAACP, where he served from 1940 until his death. Curlee valued education alongside equality. He launched a successful lawsuit against West Kentucky Community and Technical College, then known as Paducah Junior College, which resulted in the school's integration. Brown had attempted to enroll in the school for the 1951 fall semester, only to be rejected due to the

Day Law The Day Law mandated racial segregation in educational institutions in Kentucky. Formally designated "An Act to Prohibit White and Colored Persons from Attending the Same School," the bill was introduced in the Kentucky House of Representatives by ...

, which had been amended in 1950 and prohibited

desegregation Racial integration, or simply integration, includes desegregation (the process of ending systematic racial segregation), leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of race, and the development of a culture that draws ...

of any type in schools. The U.S. District Court at Paducah ruled that the college must allow Brown and other black applicants to enroll and the college made an unsuccessful attempt to appeal; eventually the school was integrated. His son would go on to be the first African American to graduate from the college; his daughter would become the second black graduate of the local junior college. In 1957 he traveled to Detroit, Michigan to hear Martin Luther King Jr. speak on civil right matters, where he met Detroit NAACP head Gloster Current who encouraged him to keep fighting.

Later life and legacy

Brown Sr. was recognized by the Paducah Sun Democrat for his contributions towards non-violent desegregation. He also received awards such as a meritorious certificate for distinguished service and personal contributions of time and effort to the community. Curlee Brown Sr., died on November 18, 1976. To honor his legacy the Kentucky NAACP created the Curlee Brown Scholarship and the Paducah branch of the NAACP created the Curlee Brown Award, which they grant to individuals who have made a visible impact in the field of human rights. In 2010 Brown Sr. was inducted into the Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Curlee 1909 births 1976 deaths NAACP activists