Thomas H. Briscoe

The Civil Rights activist, decorated military veteran and Columbia pioneer died June 18 at the age of 93.

Born to William L. and Hattie Briscoe in Baltimore City on Aug. 12, 1921, Thomas Herman Briscoe was one of seven children.
He graduated from Frederick Douglass High School, where he served as senior class president, before attending Lincoln University in Pennsylvania and Morgan State College (now University), where he received his bachelor’s degree. He later received his master’s in social work from Howard University.

Briscoe spent 30 years in the military, serving as a medic in the Italian campaign during World War II, and in the National Guard in Germany during the Korean War. It was when he returned from his duty in Europe that he was inspired to take a stand for equality.

Along with nine other black officers, Briscoe refused to return to the Maryland National Guard, which was still segregated despite an order from President Dwight D. Eisenhower, until it was integrated. With support from the NAACP and the Afro-American newspaper, the officers were successful. Briscoe was later named the second black colonel in the Maryland National Guard.

While serving in the National Guard during the 1960s, Briscoe helped to facilitate discussions between police, community leaders and citizens in the midst of civil unrest on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. For his leadership, he received the Maryland Distinguished Service Cross, the state’s highest military honor. He was also inducted into the ROTC Hall of Fame at his alma mater, Morgan State.

After retiring from the military, Briscoe embarked on a career in social work, first at the Bureau of Parks and then in Urban Services at the Bureau of Housing and Community Development.

Briscoe and his wife, Roberta, were among Columbia’s “pioneers” as some of the first to move to Jim Rouse’s fledgling planned community in 1968.

Briscoe was preceded in death by Roberta, his wife of 45 years, and his daughter Carolyn. He is survived by daughter Iris Briscoe, son Herman Briscoe, four grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.