Frances Clarke Doggett – June 18th, 1918 to December 11th, 2009
“Such would be a saying of my mother Frances Brown born a century ago on June 18th, 1918 in South Philadelphia where poverty forced by her father- Randolph Brown to move to a brownstone in the late 1920s to North Philadelphia (2051 West York Street).”
“The youngest of 9 children born into an impoverished North Philadelphia family, my mother was the last living niece of Mary Frances Clarke, one of the few African American women c. 1875-1890 who attended the post Civil War Reconstruction established Freedman’s Hospital Training College for Nurses & graduate in the Class of 1900.”
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Filmmaker Bill Doggett with mother Frances Clarke Doggett
“A graduate of Temple University – College of Education in the Class of 1940, her travels and teaching in the segregated schools of the Eastern Shore of Maryland in 1940-44 are stories of oral history to fill a diary about the importance of the 1954 Brown v. Education Supreme Court decision.”
“My mother Frances was a distinguished champion for the importance of education for young people as a Reading Specialist for more than 4 decades. Additionally, she was a Social Justice advocate & champion of young people of color in the Performing Arts.”
“My mother was a proud Historian and Genealogist inspired by Alex Haley’s Roots. She was the last living granddaughter of ex-slave, Abbie and Henry Clarke.”
Portrait of Abigail Clarke
“My parents migrated to San Francisco at the close of World War II to help African Americans who had moved from the South to work in the War Effort Bay Area shipyards before moving to Southern California in 1950, where both left a mark in Social Justice before it was popular.”
Los Angeles Freedom Dinner, 1961. Rev. and Mrs. Doggett with the young Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Harry Adams Archive, Cal State Northridge.
“Moving to Los Angeles in 1954, Reverend Doggett became pastor of Los Angeles’ historic Black Methodist church, Hamilton United Methodist Church, 1954-1965.”
Reverend John N Doggett Jr. pictured with the young Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. at Los Angeles’ first Freedom Rally at University of Southern California. April 13, 1961
“During this time, Reverend Doggett was also treasurer for the Western Christian Leadership Conference, the West Coast division of the more famous Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) under the leadership of the young Martin Luther King, Jr.”
The Los Angeles Herald Dispatch front page, April 1956
“The dawn of the early Civil Rights in Los Angeles was greatly benefited by the leadership of my parents, Reverend John N. Doggett Jr. and Frances Clarke Doggett, whose centennial birthdays are in 2018.”
“During the important early years of the Civil Rights Movement (1960-62), my father was responsible for the fundraising in Southern California and throughout California for The Freedom Riders and the was the chairman for the historic first Freedom Rallies (1961-62) held in Los Angeles to raise awareness and funds for SCLC and the Civil Rights Movement.”
Featured photo for National Prayer Vigil for Tolerance with Rev. Doggett and Martin Luther King representative, Rev. Ralph Abernathy
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