Roscoe entrusted his writings to Laurence Fishburne and Anthony Zerbe. Knowing this material would include his poetry and perhaps essays and short stories, Laurence and Anthony directed that each hand written page be encased in a protective sheath to prevent deterioration. There are over half a dozen cartons of written material.
In 2008, President Ivory Nelson and Executive Vice President Michael Hill met with Laurence Fishburne to begin a discussion on the transfer of Roscoe’s writings to Lincoln for permanent housing at the University. Roscoe graduated from Lincoln in 1946 and returned intermittently between 1946-1952 to teach courses in Literature, French and English. Roscoe had many great stories about Lincoln and the men who were his students, colleagues and friends.
Roscoe's works will be housed in The Langston Hughes Memorial Library at Lincoln University and available to the student body and those interested in his written legacy.
Prior to the actual physical transfer of the papers as first source material (handwritten), The Roscoe Lee Browne Scholarship Fund is underwriting the transcription of the papers. Roscoe did not use a typewriter or a computer. A transcriber has been retained for the estimated 3-4 month process which beings June 1. At the same time, Lincoln University and The Fund are laying the contractual groundwork for the transfer.
Lincoln University
Lincoln University of Pennsylvania, America's first Historically Black University founded in 1854, is located in Southern Chester County. The main campus is 45 miles southwest of Philadelphia. The University also operates the Urban Center of Philadelphia for graduate students and community-outreach programs. (www.lincoln.edu)
In its 147-year history, Lincoln University has educated men and later women who went on to make outstanding contributions to the country in areas including education, law, science and medicine. .
Lincoln calls special attention to alumni including: world acclaimed poet, Langston Hughes, ’29; first African-American Justice of the US Supreme Court, Thurgood Marshall, ’30; internationally known authority on tropical diseases, Hildrus A. Poindexter, ’24; first president of Nigeria, Nnamdi Azikiwe, ’30; first president of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah, ’39; Rev. James Robinson, ’35, founder of Crossroads Africa which served as the model for the Peace Corps; Sibusio Nkomo, ’81 chairperson of the National Policy Institute of South Africa and Roscoe Lee Browne, ’46 author and acclaimed actor of stage and screen.