Banita White Brown, 2006 December 2

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Identifier: OH-BR0450

Staff Only

Banita Brown oral history interview, 2006 December 2

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Scope and Contents

In her interview, Dr. Banita Brown, an associate chemistry professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, reflects on her upbringing, education, and career. Dr. Brown recollects her formative years and early education in Rock Hill, South Carolina, and her educational journey from junior high school to earning her PhD. She discusses the academic challenges and the social environments she encountered, explaining that her ability to handle and grow from difficult situations stemmed from her family and faith. In regard to racial integration, Dr. Brown discusses how her family became the first African American family to join their local YMCA in the 1970s. She describes her participation in swimming and dance classes, and how some of the white children had never interacted with African Americans as peers before they had met her. As she concludes, Dr. Brown discusses how attitudes towards higher education have changed and how this has affected her as a professor.

Dates

Creation: 2006 December 2

Biographical Note

Banita White Brown was a 46-year-old woman at the time of interview, which took place in a coffee shop in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was born in Rock Hill, South Carolina in 1960. She graduated from Furman University with a B.S. in chemistry and from the University of Miami with a Ph.D. in organic chemistry, and was employed as a professor at UNC Charlotte and as director of the McNair Scholars program.