What's online?
The entire collection has been digitized and is available online.
What's in the entire collection?
The collection consists of an autograph album booklet compiled between 1941 to 1943 by Byrd R. Brown. Autographs in the booklet include Homer S. Brown, Wilhelmina Byrd, William J. Clark, Joe Louis, Billy Conn, Paul Robeson, Bill Robinson, Marion Cuthbert, Musa Williams, Dr. F. W. Patterson, Joseph F. Guffey, Robert C. Weaver, T. Arnold Hill, Frank L. Duggan, J.B. Simpson, Todd Duncan, Mabel Collman, Anna Bruce, Eva E Heuple, Helen Lee Bird, Edith M. Brown, Marion Cuthbert, Gladys Duncan, Georgette Harvey, and Mary C. McGonigle.
About Byrd R. Brown.
Byrd Rowlette Brown (1929-2001) was a civil rights activist and attorney in Pittsburgh. He was the son of Homer S. Brown (1896-1977), a Judge and Pennsylvania legislator, and Wilhelmina M. Byrd (1901-1985), an activist and educator. Byrd Brown grew up on Anaheim Street in the “Sugar Top” section of Pittsburgh’s Hill District and graduated from Schenley High School in 1947. He was noted as being the first African American quarterback on the football team at Schenley. He later graduated from Yale University with a Bachelor of Art and a Law Degree by 1954. Following his time at Yale, Brown served in the United States Army from 1954-1956.
Returning to Pittsburgh, he opened a private law practice in downtown Pittsburgh and began a lengthy career as a litigator for both civil rights and numerous pro bono cases. He is known to have filed lawsuits against the local Board of Realtors for perpetuating racism in housing in Allegheny County.
In addition to his law practice, Brown would be elected the head of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People from 1958-1971. Brown, along with another attorney, Livingstone Johnston, would lead the successful demonstrations against the Duquesne Light Company of Pittsburgh and their discriminatory hiring practices against African Americans. He would also organize and participate in similar demonstrations against Pittsburgh department stores, construction companies, labor unions, the Pittsburgh Public Schools, and the University of Pittsburgh.
Brown sought public office on at least two occasions. In 1970, he ran as an independent Democrat against incumbent William S. Moorhead (D) in the 14th District for Congress. In 1989, he ran for the Mayor’s Office in Pittsburgh in a contested Democratic Primary that was ultimately won by the incumbent, Sophie Masloff. In 1988, Brown was elected and served on the Board of Directors of The Pittsburgh Foundation, a foundation that works to improve the quality of life in Pittsburgh by addressing community issues and promoting responsible philanthropy. He served on the Board from 1988 until the time of his death.
Brown married and later divorced Marilyn L. Ware. His second spouse and widow was Barbara A. Dobroshelsky. Brown had two daughters. Byrd R. Brown died in 2001 at Montefiore Hospital in Pittsburgh and is burried in Allegheny Cemetery.
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