The Anne Arundel Board of Education voted unanimously Wednesday to name a school administration building in Annapolis for a husband and wife who were trailblazers in pushing for equity for black teachers in the county.
The Green Street Administrative Building will be named after Philip L. and Rachel Hall Brown, longtime teachers and civil rights activists. The building is to become part of Annapolis Elementary School. The Browns were county educators for 42 years.
"The Browns were not only extraordinary people, they were those teachers that we all remember," said school board President Ned P. Carey.
Philip Brown died last year at 100. His family, led by his son, Errol Brown Sr., pushed for the board to take action quickly after his death so that Rachel Hall Brown, who is 97, would be able to accept the honor. A dedication is planned for the fall.
County Councilmen Chuck Ferrar and Daryl Jones and Annapolis Alderwomen Sheila M. Finlayson and Classie Gillis Hoyle were among the politicians who spoke in favor of the renaming. Jacqueline Allsup, president of the county chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and Carl O. Snowden, director of the state's civil rights office, who were Philip Brown's students, also spoke in support.
Philip Brown played a vital role in the integration of county schools and in achieving equal pay for black educators. He began teaching when he was 19 in a two-room schoolhouse.
Brown married Rachel Hall, who was also a teacher, in 1932. Together they formed the Colored Teachers Association in 1938, which led the push for equal pay.
The Browns' son thanked the board for the honor.
"It just goes to show you that a dream can become a reality," he said. "If my father was here today, he'd say, 'It don't get no better than this.' "
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An earlier version of this article misidentified Errol Brown Sr. The Baltimore Sun regrets the error.