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Maurita (Burnett) Davis was born October 8, 1923, in Topeka, Kansas, to her mother Lena Jones Burnett and her father McKinley Burnett. She attended the segregated Monroe school for eight years before she entered the integrated Crane Junior High. Her interview focuses on her experiences with racial discrimination, her time at Monroe, and her father's work in the NAACP. In 1948 her father became president of the Topeka NAACP, and he would later organize members of the NAACP to challenge the segregation of public schools at the primary level (secondary schools were already integrated). These dedicated citizens would become plaintiffs in the landmark civil rights case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. The interview was conducted by Jean VanDelinder. An edited transcript is included as Additional Information. This interview has a signed release for scholarly or educational purposes only.
Creator: Davis, Maurita
Date: July 15, 1994
This interview provides another female perspective to the Brown v. Board case, as well as the perspective of someone who was aware of the NAACP's work. It is especially useful since the records of the NAACP branch in Topeka are not owned by the historical society and cannot be put on Kansas Memory.
KS:11th:3.1:Brown v. Board (2005)
Item Number: 211839
Call Number: Brown v. Board Oral History Coll. 251, Box 1, Folder 14
KSHS Identifier: DaRT ID: 211839
Collections - Manuscript - Brown v. Board Oral History
Collections - Oral History - Brown vs Topeka Board of Education
Community Life - Clubs and organizations - Reform/Advocacy - National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
Curriculum - 11th Grade Standards - Kansas History Standards - 1945-1990 (Kansas_Benchmark 3) - Brown v. Board (Indicator 1) - Integrated schools
Curriculum - 11th Grade Standards - Kansas History Standards - 1945-1990 (Kansas_Benchmark 3) - Brown v. Board (Indicator 1) - Plaintiffs in the court cases
Curriculum - 11th Grade Standards - Kansas History Standards - 1945-1990 (Kansas_Benchmark 3) - Brown v. Board (Indicator 1) - Segregated schools
Date - 1990s - 1994
Education - Primary - Students
Education - Secondary - Students
Education - Segregation and desegregation - Brown v. Board
Government and Politics - Reform and Protest - Civil rights - National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
Objects and Artifacts - Communication Artifacts - Documentary Artifact - Transcript
People - African Americans - Discrimination - Segregation
People - Children
Places - Cities and towns - Kansas City
Places - Cities and towns - Topeka
Places - Counties - Shawnee
Places - Counties - Wyandotte
Thematic Time Period - Eisenhower Years, 1946 - 1961 - Civil Rights Movement
Type of Material - Unpublished documents - Transcript
https://www.kansasmemory.gov/item/211839
