Harriet Elizabeth Brown

Harriet Elizabeth Brown (sometimes called "Libby") (February 10, 1907 — January 1, 2009 ) was a Calvert County schoolteacher who pushed for equal pay, regardless of race, in Maryland education. With the help of NAACP attorney Thurgood Marshall, Brown sued the Calvert County Board of Education in 1937. At the time, African-American teachers were paid significantly less than their Euro-American colleagues. Brown was paid almost 50% less than her Euro-American counterparts with similar credentials. Calvert County settled on December 27, 1937, and agreed to equalize pay. In 1939, the Maryland Teachers Pay Equalization Law was passed, the first Maryland state equalization law. Brown was inducted into the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame in 1994.

Teaching Brown began working in Calvert County Public Schools in 1931. She worked there for more than 30 years.

Death Harriet Elizabeth Brown died on January 1, 2009, at the age of 101. She is buried at Southern Memorial Gardens in Dunkirk, Maryland.