Betty Brown-Chappell Collection

Dr. Betty Brown-Chappell is emerta faculty of Eastern Michigan University. The Betty Brown-Chappell papers documents her academic, genealogical, and professional life. The collection relates her lifetime experience in the sectors of family and student life as a first generation collegian, as an African-American Ph.D. of Social Work, and professor, and as an academic administrator. Additional materials focus on Brown-Chappell’s work as a social work advocate who impacted state, national, and international policymaking. She was a member and president of professional associations such as the National Association of Social Workers-Michigan and the National Association of Black Social Workers. She participated in partisan and international politics through such groups as the Democratic National Committee, United Nations, and the People to People Ambassador Program. The Betty Brown-Chappell papers represents one of the first collections of its kind within the State of Michigan by documenting an underrepresented stratum of society - African-American professional and degreed women who affect social policy on multi-regional levels. The Brown-Chappell digitization project brings to the public a look at a multi-generational African American family. Financial support was provided by the Brown-Chappell family. Archival professionals Alexis Braun Marks of Eastern Michigan University and Michelle McKinney and Katy Schroder of the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History provided technical leadership for the project while a number of student interns were instrumental in the completion of the project.