William J. Brown
American, 1917 - 2010
BiographyWilliam J. Brown is best known in Connecticut and Hartford in particular, for his community activism. He founded the Urban League of Greater Hartford in 1964, and served as its Executive Director until 1983 where he spearheaded numerous activities to expand opportunities for the poor and for minorities.
William J. Brown was born in Harrisburg, PA, to the late William and Otey Brown on May 17th, 1917. He graduated from West Virginia State College Institute with a B.A. in psychology and earned a M.A. in Personnel Administration from Northwestern University in Illinois. He served in the United States Army from 1942 to 1946. Before leading the Urban League of Greater Hartford he worked with the Urban League in Detroit, served as the Executive Director of the South Bend, Indiana, Urban League and as Dean of Men at Talladega College.
His accomplishments were characterized in the program for an awards dinner: “In Hartford, Bill Brown took on the tough urban issues in the turbulent 1960s. He sought an end to racial isolation in education through support of Project Concern. He pushed for equal hiring practices and became recognized across a diverse range of organizations and neighborhoods as a leader who could be trusted.”
After his retirement from the Hartford Urban League, he provided consulting services to companies and governmental agencies, and was interim President of the New York City and Boroughs Urban Leagues and of the Urban League of Eastern Mass. He was also active in the founding of the Mount Olive Baptist Church day care center, in the Greater Hartford Process, Leadership Greater Hartford, Commission on Rights and Opportunities, United Way, Rotary, the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, the Greater Hartford Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Amistad Foundation, the Community Renewal Team of Greater Hartford, Inc., and served on the Board of Directors for many organizations. He was also affiliated with the NAACP and the African American Leadership Family. He died at the age of 93 in October 2010.
William J. Brown was born in Harrisburg, PA, to the late William and Otey Brown on May 17th, 1917. He graduated from West Virginia State College Institute with a B.A. in psychology and earned a M.A. in Personnel Administration from Northwestern University in Illinois. He served in the United States Army from 1942 to 1946. Before leading the Urban League of Greater Hartford he worked with the Urban League in Detroit, served as the Executive Director of the South Bend, Indiana, Urban League and as Dean of Men at Talladega College.
His accomplishments were characterized in the program for an awards dinner: “In Hartford, Bill Brown took on the tough urban issues in the turbulent 1960s. He sought an end to racial isolation in education through support of Project Concern. He pushed for equal hiring practices and became recognized across a diverse range of organizations and neighborhoods as a leader who could be trusted.”
After his retirement from the Hartford Urban League, he provided consulting services to companies and governmental agencies, and was interim President of the New York City and Boroughs Urban Leagues and of the Urban League of Eastern Mass. He was also active in the founding of the Mount Olive Baptist Church day care center, in the Greater Hartford Process, Leadership Greater Hartford, Commission on Rights and Opportunities, United Way, Rotary, the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, the Greater Hartford Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Amistad Foundation, the Community Renewal Team of Greater Hartford, Inc., and served on the Board of Directors for many organizations. He was also affiliated with the NAACP and the African American Leadership Family. He died at the age of 93 in October 2010.
Person TypeIndividual
Cape Verdean, 1924 - 2005
