Black-and-white photograph of (from left to right) an unidentified individual, Margaret Sloan-Hunter, Gloria Steinem, and Tommie F. Brown. Photo courtesy of University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Special Collections.
Just days before Dr. Tommie F. Brown passed away at the age of 91 on Jan. 20, 2026, archivists at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga crossed a significant finish line: the completion of a federally funded project to process and open Brown’s personal and professional papers for public research.
The 18-month project, supported by a $144,049 grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, resulted in the full processing of the Tommie F. Brown papers—a 172-box collection documenting the life and work of a woman whose influence shaped UTC, Chattanooga and the state of Tennessee.
Brown’s papers were donated to UTC Special Collections in 2023, filling more than 125 linear feet of space with original research, legislative records, correspondence, legal documents, photographs and personal papers spanning decades of academic, political and civic work. The grant-funded project made those materials fully accessible to researchers for the first time.
“What finishing this project means is access,” said Carolyn Runyon, director of Special Collections at UTC. “These papers are now open and available for anyone to come in and use—students, scholars, journalists and members of the community. That access is the reason this work matters.”
Campaign ticket for Tommie F. Brown’s 1992 election bid. Courtesy of University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Special Collections.
Brown joined the UTC faculty in 1971 and later became the founding head of the University’s social work program, serving as a faculty member until 1998. In 1980, she became the first person of color to lead an academic department at UTC.
Beyond campus, she built a parallel legacy in public service, representing Tennessee’s 28th District in the state House of Representatives from 1992 to 2012 and playing a central role in landmark civil rights efforts in Chattanooga.
The papers document Brown’s work as the lead plaintiff in Brown v. Board of Commissioners of Chattanooga, the federal lawsuit that ended the city’s at-large voting system and led to the creation of a mayor-council form of government with single-member districts. They also chronicle her two decades in the Tennessee General Assembly, including meticulously researched legislation focused on education, children’s welfare, voting rights and public accountability.
The project employed a full-time professional archivist, Sara Kaparos, for 18 months and a student assistant, Boden Wilson. Together, they organized, described and rehoused every part of the collection, ensuring sensitive information was protected while preserving the integrity of the historical record.
Runyon said the timing of the project’s completion remains striking. Kaparos’ final day on the project coincided with Brown’s funeral, during which the archivist spent the morning honoring the woman whose papers she had processed for more than a year.
“I’ve never experienced anything like it professionally,” Runyon said. “The grant project ended as my colleagues and I attended Dr. Brown’s celebration of life. The experience imparted me with a profound sense of responsibility steward her legacy as preserved in her papers.”
Runyon said that Brown was intentional about preserving her story. During interviews conducted as part of the grant process, she often spoke about growing up in Chattanooga’s Bushtown neighborhood and her belief that access to education, civic engagement and political power should never feel out of reach.
The collection is also notable for what it represents in the archival record. Based on Runyon’s research, Brown’s papers are the only known fully processed and publicly accessible archival collection documenting the career of a Black woman who served in the Tennessee legislature.
“Without collections like this, entire chapters of history remain incomplete,” Runyon said. “Dr. Brown understood that, and she made a deliberate decision to ensure her work could be studied and understood in full.”
Now that the project is complete, Runyon said UTC Special Collections staff encourage use of the collection in coursework, research and creative projects, with plans to explore future digitization and public programming.
“It’s emotional to think about the finality of finishing something this large,” she said. “But the most important thing is that Dr. Brown’s papers are now part of the public dialogue.
“People can come here, open these boxes and learn directly from her life’s work. That’s the legacy she wanted.”
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UTC Special Collections wins federal grant to process Dr. Tommie Brown’s personal papers
