Salute To Excellence | Digital Program Booklet 2025-26 - Journal - Page 14
Biography of Harriet Elizabeth Brown
Harriet Elizabeth Brown came to Calvert County as an elementary teacher in 1930. She had
graduated from the Philadelphia Normal School and had taken additional courses at
Hampton Institute, Hampton, Virginia. Miss Brown held a first grade certificate issued by
the State Department of Education of Maryland. She was initially assigned to Island Creek
School and later transferred to Mt. Hope Elementary School. In 1937, she discovered that
colored teachers were receiving a much lower salary than white teachers.
HARRIET ELIZABETH BROWN
For many years the colored teachers of Maryland had been fighting for equal salaries
beginning in the early 1930’s. H. Elizabeth Brown was employed in one of the colored
schools of Calvert County, Maryland, 1937. It was at that time when she discovered fully
that colored teachers were receiving a much lower salary than white teachers. She was a
teacher with eight years of experience and a first grader certificate receiving an annual salary
of $600.00. A white teacher with the same qualification and experience was receiving an
annual salary of $1100.00. As a general rule, colored teachers in separate schools had never
received salaries equal to those of white teachers in the same community with same training,
qualifications, and same work nor were colored teachers paid in proportion to their training
(e.g. - a colored teacher with 70 percent as much training as the white teacher and taught 38
percent more pupils never-the-less, received only 47 percent as much salary).
Because of the courage possessed by Miss Brown to file this case and follow it through,
salaries were equalized through-out Maryland. Miss Brown’s case became the turning point
of the salary equalization fight in Maryland and what happened in Maryland affected all of
the Southern States of our country. Elizabeth can be compared to Rosa Parks in that she
was the catalyst in education in our State for equal pay regardless of race. Recognizing that
this was a landmark case in Maryland, staff members from our Supreme Court Justice
Thurgood Marshall’s office contacted Elizabeth just after Justice Marshall retired and
requested permission to borrow her files so that a copy could be made for his archives.
HARRIET ELIZABETH BROWN EDUCATION AWARD
STEPHANIE D. ROLLE
Stephanie Rolle is a visionary leader whose work reflects a lifelong commitment to uplifting
others through purpose, strategy, and service. A proud graduate of Florida Agricultural and
Mechanical University, she holds certifications as a Certified Facilitator, Certified Corporate
Trainer, and Certified Grief Coach—credentials that underscore her dedication to personal and
professional transformation.
STEPHANIE D. ROLLE
Her career spans corporate, academic, nonprofit, government, and faith-based sectors across the
U.S. and internationally, with meaningful contributions in South Africa, Western Canada, and
Brazil. Whether guiding institutions or mentoring individuals, Stephanie brings clarity,
compassion, and results. Rooted in a family legacy of community service, Stephanie continues to
champion sustainability for the work of caring and innovation as Director of the College of
Southern Maryland Nonprofit Institute, where she supports mission-driven organizations and
advances student success. Her approach blends strategic insight with deep reverence for the work
Southern Maryland’s nonprofits do each day to care for the most vulnerable.
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