Oct 10, 2018 Orange County Review
On Oct. 20, the Orange County African-American Historical Society will hold its first awards banquet. If you are interested in attending—there are an estimated three seats remaining—or in making a donation, please contact the Rev. Darryle Crump at (301) 520-1082.
The organization will be recognizing five individuals this year for their extraordinary work in sharing and sustaining African-American history in Orange County. For each of the next five weeks, this column will showcase one of the recipients. This week, we recognize Carolyn Howard French.
Carolyn French was born in Washington, D.C. on January 23, 1927. She was the daughter of Dr. William J. Howard and Dorothy Waring Howard. Her ancestral roots run deep in Orange County. Her great-grandfather, John Albert Brown, was born on the Burlington Plantation and her great-grandmother, Winifred Simpson Brown, was born on the Barbour Plantation.
Although they lived in Washington, Brownland, Orange County and Blue Run Baptist Church remained central in their lives. French would often say that some of the happiest times of her childhood were here and that she learned to draw strength from the example of the Brown family.
While attending Mount Holyoke College, she met a Howard University medical student, David M. French. They married in 1945 and were blessed with eight children, all of whom were instilled with a love of intellectual curiosity.
Although Carolyn and David traveled extensively, the evening years of their lives were spent at her family’s home, Brownland. But no one could say that she “retired.”
Carolyn French dove headlong into the local community, particularly focusing on the history and advancement of African-Americans.
She became an active member of the executive committee of the Orange County NAACP, was a founding member of the Orange County African-American Historical Society and established the Orange County Council on Race Relations.
Her daughter Lynn writes, “My mother believed in her family, her community and her people. Her life led her to be an educator, a historian, an adventurous traveler and a fighter. She researched family history long before Roots or Ancestry.com. She crawled through court records, interviewed people and eventually could tell not only her family history, but also the history of entire communities—replete with migration patterns.
“She found second-class citizenship unacceptable and actively participated in the NAACP, various community and race relations groups, the Democratic Party—and was not shy about creating an organization or two when she thought one was needed.
“Her pride in her father’s family that was rooted in Barboursville compelled her to fight attempts at strip mining in Orange County that not only would have harmed the environment, but also would have eradicated much of the longstanding African-American community.
“When my father was involved in the founding and leadership of the Medical Committee for Human Rights in the 1960s, Mama accompanied him to the Selma March and the Mississippi March Against Fear, during which she fearlessly drove our family van that had been equipped as an ambulance or a public health outpost.”
Her granddaughter Tania adds, “Gramma was raised with love by parents whose expectations of their child were huge. Gramma believed she COULD, without reservation, and led by a fearless example.”
Carolyn French lived a life of service to others for the good of others. She never forgot or abandoned her roots. For this we say thank you.