Brown, Corrine, 1946-

<p>Corrine Brown (born November 11, 1946) is an American former politician and convicted felon, who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida from 1993 to 2017. She is a member of the Democratic Party. After a court-ordered redistricting significantly changed her district, and a federal indictment for corruption, Brown was defeated in the 2016 Democratic primary by Al Lawson, who went on to win Brown's former seat.</p>

<p>Born in Jacksonville, Florida, Brown earned a bachelor of science degree from Florida A&M University in 1969. She earned a master's degree in 1971 from Florida A&M University, and in 1974 received an educational specialist degree from the University of Florida.</p>

<p>After an unsuccessful bid for the Florida House of Representatives in 1980, Brown was elected two years later from a newly drawn House district and served in the House for ten years.</p>

<p>After the 1990 census, the Florida legislature carved out a new 3rd congressional district in the northern part of the state. This district was designed to enclose an African-American majority within its boundaries. A horseshoe-shaped district encompassing largely African-American neighborhoods in Jacksonville, Gainesville, Orlando, Ocala, and Lake City, the 3rd district seemed likely to send Florida's first African-American to Congress since Reconstruction, and Brown decided to run.</p>

<p>Brown faced several candidates in the 1992 Democratic primary, but the strongest opponent to emerge was Andy Johnson, a white talk radio host from Jacksonville. Brown defeated Johnson in the primary and in a two-candidate runoff, and went on to win the general election in November 1992.</p>

<p>In 1995, the 3rd district was struck down by the United States Supreme Court as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. One of the main instigators of the lawsuit that led to the redistricting was Brown's 1992 opponent, Andy Johnson. Brown railed against the change, complaining that "[t]he Bubba I beat couldn't win at the ballot box [so] he took it to court," in an interview with New Republic. Although the district was redrawn to be more compact and its black population decreased, Brown won reelection in 1996.</p>

<p>In 1992 Corrine Brown was part of the first group of African-American lawmakers elected to the United States House of Representatives from Florida since 1877. During her congressional career, Brown worked to bring federal programs to her Jacksonville district using her seats on the Transportation and Infrastructure and the Veterans’ Affairs Committees. She also pushed civil rights reforms both at home in Jacksonville and abroad. Brown, who became the subject of ethics investigations during her career, embraced her admittedly outspoken legislative style and believed her mission in the House went beyond her history-making election in 1992. “It means a lot more than the glamor of being elected,” she once remarked. “Once you’re elected it means getting things done. It means representing people that have not been part of the process.”</p>

<p>Corrine Brown was born in Jacksonville, Florida, on November 11, 1946. She grew up in the city’s Northside neighborhood and graduated from Stanton High School. As a single mother, she raised a daughter, Shantrel. Brown earned a bachelor’s degree in 1969 and a master’s degree in 1971, both from Florida Agriculture and Mechanical University. In 1972 Brown graduated with an educational specialist degree from the University of Florida. She taught at the University of Florida and Edward Waters College before moving to Florida Community College in Jacksonville, where she taught and served as a guidance counselor from 1977 to 1992. She also opened her own travel agency in Jacksonville.</p>

<p>In 1979 Brown’s close friend, college sorority sister, and political mentor, Gwen Cherry, died in a car crash. Cherry was the first African-American woman elected to the Florida house of representatives, and her death pushed Brown toward politics. Two years later, Brown won a seat in the Florida legislature and served for a decade.</p>

BROWN, Corrine, a Representative from Florida; born in Jacksonville, St. John County, Fla., November 11, 1946; B.S., Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Tallahassee, Fla., 1969; M.A., Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Tallahassee, Fla., 1971; Ed.S., University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla., 1974; faculty, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla., Edward Waters College, Jacksonville, Fla., and Florida Community College, Jacksonville, Fla.; member of the Florida state house of representatives, 1983-1993; elected as a Democrat to the One Hundred Third and to the eleven succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1993-January 3, 2017); unsuccessful candidate for renomination to the One Hundred Fifteenth Congress in 2016.