Racism and segregation were common at that time, and some of the school's patients would refuse to let the two African American students treat them.
After graduation, Brown was sent to California to work at the Veteran's Administration Hospital (the VA) where people were "more progressive" and were more likely to accept "his kind".
Dean Pyle took the initiative to research the matter herself and found evidence corroborating what she was told by Brown's daughter.
Dean Pyle took it upon herself to reach out to African American Chancellor of UMKC, Leo Morton.
Together they hosted a posthumous ceremony in September, 2012, honoring Brown as the school's First African American Graduate.