Benjamin Brown oral history interview, October 15, 1996

Item — othertype: Oral History

Identifier: BrownB_19961015_P1996-01

Staff Only

Benjamin Brown oral history interview

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Scope and Contents

Interviewed by Cliff Kuhn. Among topics discussed: Family background in College Park, GA; involvement with Methodist Episcopal Church as a youth; involvement with YMCA and Warren Cochrane; John Hope Camp, youth camp for blacks; family move into Atlanta; early interest in politics: Atlanta Negro Voters League, Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon; John Calhoun; Martin Luther (Daddy) King; Reverend William Holmes Borders; WERD radio, first black-owned radio station in the continental United States; Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton; Phi Beta Sigma; political influences as a teenager; Grace Hamilton; student activities and activism at Clark College and Atlanta University Center; his wife, Lydia Tucker; Atlanta Committee for Cooperative Action; Second Look; Carl Holman; Lonnie King; Dr. Brawley; sit-ins; Herschelle Sullivan; Southern Christian Leadership Conference; Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, headquarters in Atlanta; National Student Association; march on the state capitol, Atlanta, 1960; involvement and arrest of M. L. King, Jr.; Kennedy involvement; Warren Street Church; relationship between student and older black community; bus station integration movement; Rich’s boycott.

Dates

Creation: October 15, 1996

Creator

Brown, Benjamin, 1939-1999 (Interviewee, Person)

Restrictions on Access

Oral history available for research.

Biographical Note

Ben Brown (1939-1999) was born in Montezuma, Georgia, was active in civil rights activities in Atlanta in the 1960s, and served in the Georgia House of Representatives 1966, 1969-1977. He resigned in 1977 to take a position in the Carter administration.