Jerry Brown’s history in California gets a unique voice — his own
The Bancroft Library's Oral History Center compiles an oral history of California's longest-serving governor
October 16, 2018
There is little over the last half-century of California history that hasn’t led in some way or another to Jerry Brown.
And now that history is getting a voice — the voice of Jerry Brown.
The outgoing governor will take part in an extensive oral history with the Bancroft Library’s Oral History Center and KQED. Brown’s history has taken him from Jesuit seminarian to UC Berkeley graduate to secretary of state, attorney general and twice governor of the state.
He found time in there to serve as Oakland’s mayor. And he ran for president of the United States three times, in 1976, 1980 and finally in 1992. Mix in growing up in Sacramento as the son of Gov. Pat Brown, and Jerry Brown’s political history is nearly as expansive as the Golden State’s.
Brown has agreed to sit and talk extensively with Martin Meeker and Todd Holmes of the Oral History Center and Scott Shafer, political maven at KQED. The interviews are expected to cover more than 30 hours, all of which will be available to the public through the OHC. And KQED is planning a series of podcasts with the interviews as the focal point of explaining the Brown legacy.