WCN Transmedia Group congratulates the Obama Administration for launching the http://www.whitehouse.gov/africanamericans website.
Answering the questions that many African Americans are asking, President Obama released a new portal for African Americans and made a major committment to open dialog with the Black Community.
Keepers of the Dream Speech by President Barack Obama 20th Anniversary National Action Network.
During this week I had the pleasure of meeting Joshua Dubois the Director of the President’s Faith Based Initiative who gave a candid speech about the Administration his office and Access to the President’s heart for people of all Faiths at the National Action Network 20th Anniversary Conference. What was very honest and refreshing was his passion for telling the truth about Grants and Access to ways to support the nation’s Faith Based Communities of all backgrounds.
Joshua DuBois
Understanding that Barack Obama is the President of the United States it is important for all of us to understand the accomplishments of someone who inherited a Holy Mess (excuse the pun). And while we would love to give President Obama a pass it is up to us to take advantage and spread the truth about what
he is accomplishing. Change that we can believe in does not come overnight nor has he promised miracles. What our President is doing I believe is his best and as such deserves our prayers as our Commander and Chief even as we hold him accountable for decisions that will affect future generations.
Ron Harmon Brown Former U.S. Commerce Secretary August 1, 1941–April 3, 1996
White House Honors Ron Brown, a Great American who served in the Clinton Administration.
Ron Brown (U.S. politician)
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| Ronald Harmon Brown | |
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| In office January 22, 1993 – April 3, 1996 |
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| President | Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by | Barbara Hackman Franklin |
| Succeeded by | Mickey Kantor |
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| In office 1989–1993 |
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| Preceded by | Paul G. Kirk |
| Succeeded by | David Wilhelm |
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| Born | August 1, 1941 Washington, D.C. |
| Died | April 3, 1996 (aged 54) near Dubrovnik, Croatia |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Alma Arrington |
| Alma mater | Middlebury College St. John’s University |
| Military service | |
| Service/branch | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1962-1967 |
Ronald Harmon “Ron” Brown (August 1, 1941–April 3, 1996) was the United States Secretary of Commerce, serving during the first term of President Bill Clinton. He was the first African American to hold this position. He was killed, along with 34 others, in a 1996 plane crash in Croatia.
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Early life and political career
He was born in Washington, D.C., and was raised in Harlem, New York, in a middle-class family. He was a member of the African-American social and philanthropic organization, Jack and Jill of America, where he met many African-American friends. Brown attended Hunter College Elementary School and Rhodes Preparatory School. His father managed the Theresa Hotel in Harlem, where Ron lived growing up. His best friend John R. Nailor moved into the penthouse while a student at Rhodes. Nailor was one of the other few black students who attended Rhodes Prep. As a child, he appeared in an advertisement for Pepsi-Cola, one of the first to be targeted specifically towards the African-American community.[1]
While at Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vermont, Ron Brown became the first African-American member of Sigma Phi Epsilon, a national men’s collegiate fraternity. Brown joined the army in 1962, after graduating from Middlebury, and served in South Korea and Europe, the same year he married Alma Arrington. After being discharged in 1967, Brown joined the National Urban League, a leading economic equality group in the United States. Meanwhile, Brown enrolled in law school at St. John’s University and obtained a degree in 1970.
Rising star in the Democratic Party
By 1976, Brown had been promoted to Deputy Executive Director for Programs and Governmental Affairs of the National Urban League. However, he resigned in 1979 to work as a deputy campaign manager for Senator Edward M. Kennedy, who sought the Democratic Party‘s presidential nomination.
Brown was hired in 1981 by the Washington, D.C., law firm Patton, Boggs & Blow as a lawyer and a lobbyist.
In May 1988, Brown was named by Jesse L. Jackson to head Jackson’s convention team at the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta. Brown was named along with several other experienced party insiders to Jackson’s convention operation. By June, it was apparent that Brown was also running Jackson’s campaign.
Brown was elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee on February 10, 1989, and played an integral role in running a successful 1992 Democratic National Convention and in Bill Clinton’s successful 1992 presidential run. President Clinton then appointed Brown to the position of Secretary of Commerce in 1993.
Death
USAF MH-53J Pave Low helicopter over wreckage of the USAF CT-43A approximately 3 kilometers north of the Dubrovnik Airport in Croatia, 3 April 1996.
On April 3, 1996 at age 54, while on an official trade mission, the Air Force CT-43 (a modified Boeing 737) carrying Brown and 34 other people, including New York Times Frankfurt Bureau chief Nathaniel C. Nash, crashed in Croatia. While attempting an instrument approach to Čilipi airport, the airplane crashed into a mountainside. Everyone aboard was killed instantly except Air Force Tech. Sgt. Shelley Kelly, a flight attendant, who died while being transported to a hospital.[2] The final Air Force investigation attributed the crash to pilot error and a poorly designed landing approach.[3] Speculations as to the circumstances surrounding the plane crash that caused Brown’s death include many government cover-up and conspiracy theories, largely based on Brown having been under investigation by independent counsel for corruption.[4]
Honors and Legacy
On January 8, 2001, Brown was presented, posthumously, with the Presidential Citizens Medal by President Bill Clinton. The award was accepted by Brown’s widow, Alma Brown. President Clinton also established the Ron Brown Award for corporate leadership and responsibility. The Conference Board administers the privately funded award. The U.S. Department of Commerce also gives out the annual Ronald H. Brown American Innovator Award in his honor. The California Black Chamber of Commerce, every August, holds the Ron Brown Business Economic Summit.
Many academic scholarships and programs have been established to honor Brown. St. John’s University School of Law established the The Ronald H. Brown Center for Civil Rights and Economic Development in memorial.[5] The Ronald H. Brown fellowship is awarded annually to many students at Middlebury College to pursue research internships in science and technology, and the Ron Brown Scholar Program was established in Brown’s honor in 1996 to provide academic scholarships, service opportunities and leadership experiences for young African Americans of outstanding promise.
The largest ship in the NOAA fleet, the NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown, was named in honor of his public service not long after his death.
In March, 2011 The United States Mission to the United Nations in New York City was named in Brown’s honor and dedicated at a ceremony in which President Obama spoke.[6]
References
- ^ Martin, Douglas (May 6, 2007). “Edward F. Boyd Dies at 92; Marketed Pepsi to Blacks.”. The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-05-05.
- ^ Pilot error, poor equipment blamed for Brown plane crash, from CNN.com. Published 7 June 1996; accessed 12 September 2008.
- ^ Department of Defense news article
- ^ Frieden, Terry, “Independent Counsel: No Conclusions On Brown Probe”, CNN.com, Nov. 14, 1996
- ^ http://www.stjohns.edu/academics/graduate/law/academics/centers/ronbrown
- ^ Remarks by the President at Dedication of the Ronald H. Brown United States Mission to the United Nations Building [1]
- Clinton, Bill (2005). My Life. Vintage. ISBN 1-4000-3003-X.
External links
- The Ron Brown Award
- Details from the USAF accident report
- The Presidency Project – William J. Clinton – Remarks on Presenting the Presidential Citizens Medal, January 8, 2001
Video
- “To Make a Real Difference in the Real Lives of Real People…”, keynote speech at the Third African-African American Summit, Dakar, Senegal, May, 1995 – (an AFRICAN CONNECTIONS documentary) – Technical Note: playback requires Flash 10 Player
Bibliography
- Jack Cashill, Ron Brown’s Body (WND Books, 2004) ISBN 0-7852-6237-7
| Party political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Paul G. Kirk |
Democratic National Committee Chairman 1988–1993 |
Succeeded by David Wilhelm |
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| Preceded by Barbara Hackman Franklin |
United States Secretary of Commerce Served under: Bill Clinton January 22, 1993 – April 3, 1996 |
Succeeded by Mickey Kantor |
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Finally President Obama is taking to FACEBOOK to hold his First Town Hall of the fast approaching Election Season:
President Obama’s facebook townhall – April 20 @ 1:45pm PDT / 4:45pm EDT
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Wednesday, April 20 · 4:30pm – 5:30pm |
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facebook HQ & facebook.com/WhiteHouse |
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The White House |
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WHAT’S HAPPENING |
