Brown, Earl, 1903-1980

African-American journalist and Harlem politician, Earl Brown was a graduate of Harvard University (1929) worked for the "Amsterdam News," "Life," and "Time" magazines before entering politics. In 1949 while employed as and editor at "Time" magazine, he accepted Tammany Hall's request to run against the incumbent Benjamin Davis for New York City Council. Brown defeated Davis, a Communist Party candidate, and was elected to the seat. During his tenure as Councilman (1949-1961), Brown investigated police corruption and brutality, co-sponsored legislation to end discrimination in housing, and headed a special committee on the use of narcotics in New York City. In 1958 he attempted to unseat Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. and lost. In 1961 he left the Council to become a member of the City's Housing and Redevelopment Board. Two years later Brown was named Acting Manhattan Borough President, and in 1965 was appointed the first paid chairman of the City's Commission on Human Rights, retiring a short time later.