BLACK History

Brown was the sixth African-American to attend, and the first to graduate from the Naval Academy.[4] He was nominated for admission and later appointed to the Naval Academy by New York Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Brown entered the Academy on June 30, 1945, and graduated on June 3, 1949. He was an accomplished athlete, running cross-country with Jimmy Carter, the 39th president, who was also a Naval Academy graduate.[3] The experiences of the first five African Americans admitted to the academy and the challenges Brown and the others faced are documented in the book Breaking the Color Barrier: The US Naval Academy’s First Black Midshipmen and the Struggle for Racial Equality, written by Navy historian Robert J. Schneller Jr.

Brown and his wife Crystal had four children and seven grandchildren. Their daughter Carol Jackson chairs the California Division of the American Cancer Society[5] and heads the External Affairs and Diversity Management departments at Macy's West.[6] Brown was a volunteer motivational speaker and spoke with Washington, DC high school students and midshipmen of the USNA Black Studies Club during Black History Month.

Brown died aged 85 on May 22, 2012, in Silver Spring, Maryland.[7]