Book Review: The Promise by Oral Lee Brown

Her memoir about adopting a first-grade class in East Oakland and promising to send every child to college in 1987 was then a daunting and then unimaginable task. Though most people wanted her to fail, Mrs. Brown managed to save $10,000 annually to send nineteen of the twenty-three children to college. Some even attended graduate school but most importantly, all became productive citizens. Many of these children came from extremely disadvantaged backgrounds yet persevered and obtained a college education.

The most inspiration tale was the children’s but of Oral herself. The combination of her financial shrewdness, discipline and encouragement ensured success for them. Born in Batesville, Mississippi in the 1940s, Oral’s parents were only a handful of blacks who owned their own farm. In addition, she picked 50 pounds of cotton for $2.00 a day. She witnessed first hand brutality by the county sheriff against her brother and saw how her father told the NAACP that he wouldn’t press charges for fears that the police would kill his entire family. Afterward, vowed after that incident to never live in fear.

Moving to New York City at age twelve to help care for her older sister’s children, Oral lived in a city were there wasn’t any segregation then at age twenty after much prodding from her two brothers, relocated to East Oakland. During her career she graduated from college through Blue Cross’ continuing education program and started her own real estate company. She used her profits from the company to finance the children’s education. The remarkable thing for me was her financial savvy. Wary of going to the financial market, she opened a personal trust account with a 1999 maturity date at her bank so that her $10,000 could earn a higher interest rate with additional risk. Her concerns were confirmed when the stock market declined in 2000. That financial information gave me much needed insight on how I could earn a higher rate without going to the market.

Reading her autobiography inspired me to soar higher than before because I never had her experiences but always felt that education was critical towards my success. Look no further than today’s economy where a BA is an entry-level requirement for a menial paying job or the state colleges raising their tuition. Though I have an MBA and BA to earn a decent living and pay out of pocket for community college and state college courses, many do not. That is why immediately after receiving acceptance from the MA economics program, I recommitted myself towards discipline by enhancing my personal and professional lives by using my upcoming off day to tour colleges and retrieve information, buying a first day of school outfit the exudes professionalism and an eagerness to learn, purchasing all of my textbooks and reading them in advance to ensure that I achieve a 4.0 grade point average, and applying for scholarships to reduce my tuition. Oral Lee Brown’s story of compassion, hope and goodwill has inspired me to do better in my own life; thus, The Promise, is an excellent read.