Overview

From an unlikely beginning as an agency transcriptionist in her hometown of Washington, DC, Gloria Brown became the first African American woman to attain the rank of forest supervisor at the US Forest Service. As a young widow with three children, she transferred to Missoula, Montana, and embarked on a remarkable journey, ultimately leading the Siuslaw National Forest in Oregon and later the Los Padres in California. The story of Brown’s career, from clerical worker to forest supervisor, unfolds against the backdrop of a changing government agency and a changing society.   As scholars awaken to the racist history of public land management and the ways that people of color have been excluded from contemporary notions of nature and wilderness, Brown’s story provides valuable insight into the roles that African Americans have carved out for themselves in the outdoors generally and in the field of environmental policy and public lands management specifically. Drawing on her powerful communication and listening skills, her sense of humor, and her willingness to believe in the basic goodness of humanity, Brown conducted civil rights trainings and shattered glass ceilings, all while raising her children alone.   Written in an engaging and accessible style with historian Donna Sinclair, Brown’s story provides a fascinating case study for public administration and contributes to a deeper understanding of the environmental and civil rights movements of the twentieth century, particularly the role that racial discrimination has played in national forests, parks, and other wilderness spaces. It also highlights issues of representation in the federal government, women’s history, the history of the American West, and literature associated with African American experiences in predominately white societies.  

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Gloria Brown started work for the USDA Forest Service in Washington, D.C. in 1974. She earned a journalism degree at University of Maryland, College Park and worked her way up in the agency by moving West in 1988 and eventually qualifying as a forester through Oregon State University. In 1999, Gloria became the first African American female Forest Supervisor in the United States, first on Oregon's Siuslaw National Forest and then the Los Padres in California. As supervisor, Gloria received many awards for mediating conflicts between the government and environmentalists. She has three children and lives in Lake Oswego, Oregon.   Dr. Donna Sinclair is an adjunct History professor, public historian, and a museum professional who specializes in oral history. She writes for the National Park Service, has run several major oral history programs, and curated the 2018 'Clark County Stories' exhibit and community conversations in Vancouver, Washington. She continues this work through a 'Women in Politics' project as part of the centennial commemoration for woman suffrage in 2020. Sinclair, who received the 2013 Catherine Prelinger Award for non-traditional women historian, is a member of the Washougal School District Board of Education. She has three children and lives in Washougal, Washington.

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