Top of page

Film, Video Robert J. Brown oral history interview conducted by David P. Cline in High Point, North Carolina, 2013 October 01

Robert J. Brown oral history interview conducted by David P. Cline in High Point, North Carolina, 2013 October 01

About this Item

Title

  • Robert J. Brown oral history interview conducted by David P. Cline in High Point, North Carolina, 2013 October 01

Summary

  • Robert Brown describes his childhood in High Point, North Carolina, the poverty and segregation that defined his childhood, and how his grandmother influenced him by telling stories about his family's history during slavery. Brown became one of the first black policemen in High Point and later transitioned to a position as a federal agent in New York. He returned to North Carolina in 1960 to start a public relations firm, B&C Associates, Inc., which advised companies about how to change policies on race and segregation. Brown also shares stories about serving as a special assistant to President Richard Nixon and his role in bringing attention to apartheid in South Africa through his relationship with Nelson Mandela and his family.

Names

  • Brown, Robert J., 1935- interviewee
  • Cline, David P., 1969- interviewer
  • Civil Rights History Project (U.S.)

Created / Published

  • 2013.

Headings

  • -  Brown, Robert J.,--1935---Interviews
  • -  B&C Associates, Inc
  • -  F.W. Woolworth Company
  • -  African American businesspeople--Interviews
  • -  African American police--Interviews
  • -  African Americans--Employment
  • -  Civil rights movements--United States
  • -  Discrimination in employment--United States

Genre

  • Filmed Interviews
  • Interviews
  • Oral histories
  • Video recordings

Notes

  • -  Recorded in High Point, North Carolina, on October 1, 2013.
  • -  Civil Rights History Project Collection (AFC 2010/039), Archive of Folk Culture, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
  • -  Copies of items are also held at the National Museum of African American History and Culture (U.S.).
  • -  Robert J. Brown was a police officer and founder of B&C Associates, Inc., a public relations firm.
  • -  The Civil Rights History Project is a joint project of the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of African American History and Culture to collect video and audio recordings of personal histories and testimonials of individuals who participated in the Civil Rights movement.
  • -  In English.
  • -  Finding aid http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/eadafc.af013005

Medium

  • 11 video files of 11 (Apple ProRes 422 HQ, QuickTime wrapper) (130 min.) : digital, sound, color.
  • 1 transcript (59 pages).

Source Collection

  • Civil Rights History Project collection AFC 2010/039: 0106

Repository

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2015669205

Access Advisory

Online Format

  • image
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

The individuals documented in these collection items retain copyright and related rights to the use of their recorded and written testimonies and memories.  They have granted the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution permission to provide access to their interviews and related materials for purposes that are consistent with each agency’s educational mission, such as publication and transmission, in whole or in part, on the Web. Their written permission is required for commercial, profit-making distribution, reproduction, or other use beyond that allowed by fair use or other statutory exemptions. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item. See our Legal Notices and Privacy and Publicity Rights for additional information and restrictions.

The American Folklife Center, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and the professional fieldworkers who carry out these projects feel a strong ethical responsibility to the people they have visited and who have consented to have their lives documented for the historical record. The Center asks that researchers approach the materials in this collection with respect for the culture and sensibilities of the people whose lives, ideas, and creativity are documented here. Researchers are also reminded that privacy and publicity rights may pertain to certain uses of this material.

Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these collection materials should contact the Folklife Reading Room for assistance. 

Credit Line

Civil Rights History Project collection (AFC 2010/039), American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Brown, Robert J., Interviewee, David P Cline, and U.S Civil Rights History Project. Robert J. Brown oral history interview conducted by David P. Cline in High Point, North Carolina. 2013. Video. https://www.loc.gov/item/2015669205/.

APA citation style:

Brown, R. J., Cline, D. P. & Civil Rights History Project, U. S. (2013) Robert J. Brown oral history interview conducted by David P. Cline in High Point, North Carolina. [Video] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2015669205/.

MLA citation style:

Brown, Robert J., Interviewee, David P Cline, and U.S Civil Rights History Project. Robert J. Brown oral history interview conducted by David P. Cline in High Point, North Carolina. 2013. Video. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2015669205/>.