Cora Mae Brown (April 19, 1914 – December 17, 1972) was the first

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

woman elected (rather than appointed) to a

state senate In the United States, the state legislature is the legislative branch in each of the 50 U.S. states. A legislature generally performs state duties for a state in the same way that the United States Congress performs national duties at ...

in the United States. She won her seat in the

Michigan Senate The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ado ...

in 1952. Brown was a Democrat who represented Detroit.

Early life

Cora Mae Brown was Richard and Alice Brown's only child. She was born in

Bessemer, Alabama Bessemer is a city in Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County, Alabama, United States and a southwestern suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, Birmingham. The population was 26,019 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is within the Bi ...

on April 19, 1914. When better economic conditions did not appear for their family when they moved to Birmingham, her grandparents urged her parents to move north to Michigan. At 8, she moved to

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, with her family. There, her father established a tailor shop that was supported by Detroit automotive workers. They occupied a neighborhood that was racially diverse.

Education

Brown enrolled at the Bishop School when her parents moved the family to Detroit in 1922 and she had her first experiences with racial discrimination at the school. A German classmate called her "schwarze" or "black woman," using negative connotations. In 1931, she graduated from

Cass Technical High School Cass Technical High School (simply referred to as Cass Tech) is a four-year Public magnet high school in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, United States. from the University Cultural Center Association, retrieved June 9, 1001 It was established in 19 ...

and entered

Fisk University Fisk University is a Private university, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus i ...

, a

historically black college Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of serving African Americans. Most are in the Southern U ...

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. She originally intended to study medicine, but found it too difficult to look at the medical cadavers. She quickly changed her concentration to sociological work. During her time at Fisk, she studied sociology with renowned sociologist E. Franklin Frazier and received an A.B. degree. To manage college expenses Brown worked at a Detroit Urban League summer camp for underprivileged children. Brown was known for being particularly active in campus political movements as a student (1931-1935). This commitment was inspired by her strong reaction to the lynching of a young black man accused of rape in

Columbia, Tennessee Columbia is a city in and the county seat of Maury County, Tennessee. The population was 41,690 as of the 2020 United States census. Columbia is included in the Nashville metropolitan area. The self-proclaimed "mule capital of the world," Colu ...

. Her actions on campus indicate her lifelong commitment to social justice. Following graduation, Brown returned to

where she worked from 1941 to 1946 as a policewoman in the

Detroit Police Department The Detroit Police Department (DPD) is the primary law enforcement agency of the city of Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1865, it has nearly 2,630 officers, making it the largest law enforcement organization in the state. In additio ...

's Women's Division. Many of her cases involved criminal law. This inspired her to attend

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...

's law school, she would pass the bar examination two weeks after her graduation in 1948. Though she did not focus on criminal law during her time in school, Brown remained interested in this pursuit.

Legal career

Upon graduation from

in 1935, Brown took advantage of the need for social workers created by the 1929 economic crash. For another five years, she assisted the homeless of Detroit deal with the effects of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. At 37, Brown worked as a fines lawyer in Detroit. She made a comfortable living and resided with her mother. Following her work as the special associate general counsel of the US Post Office, she moved to Los Angeles. She opened a small practice there and practiced law until her return to Detroit in 1970. Brown was involved in several civil rights and community building organizations. Brown worked with the NAACP, YWCA, the

Alpha Kappa Alpha Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. () is an List of African American fraternities, historically African-American Fraternities and sororities, sorority. The sorority was founded in 1908 at Howard University in Washington, D.C.. Alpha Kappa Alpha ...

sorority, and the New Calvary Baptist Church.

Political career and involvement

Brown's political involvement began during her time at

. As a student she participated in demonstrations and was praised by writer Edward T. Clayton for her "willingness to battle injustice." In 1950 and 1951, she ran for a seat on the Michigan State Senate but was defeated. This seat had been up for special election after senator Wilkowski had been accused of election fraud. Her experience in these two campaigns allowed her to make more competitive decisions in her 1952 race. She went door to door and sent trucks around Detroit to spread her message to voters, this campaign was based on her desire to improve hospital, social services, and to decrease racial inequality. Brown's campaign victory in 1952 allowed her to serve two terms (1953-1956). At the time, a Michigan State Senate term was about two years. She served as the state senator for the 2nd District during her first term and served for the 3rd District during her second term. Throughout her time in the Senate, she worked on committees for welfare, public utilities, and health. Brown fought strongly for

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

and introduced several bills that aided their expansion in Michigan. One such bill increased punishments given to restaurants and hotels that were racially discriminatory from $25 to $100. Another, introduced in 1956, ordered the removal of licenses of business that discriminated on the basis of race. Brown is also noted to be a women's rights activist, as she worked to curb the distribution of pornography through the mail. Newspapers hailed her as the "champion of the underprivileged." At times, Brown clashed with her colleagues in the Democratic Party. Her devotion to issues like education, civil rights, health, and labor often challenged more conservative members of her party. She made the decision to change her district in her 1956 run for office, challenging another Democrat who was quite popular. She told constituents not to vote for representatives who would not openly support the Civil Rights Movement, costing her the support of the

United Auto Workers Union The United Auto Workers (UAW), fully named International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico) and so ...

and the Democratic Party. She supported

Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

when he ran for re-election in 1956 over the Democratic candidate Adlai Stevenson, because of his views on civil rights. The same year, Brown attempted to win a seat in Congress. Her candidacy in the Democratic Primary for US representative from Michigan's 1st District was announced following her 1956 selection as the Outstanding Woman Legislator of the year. Ultimately, Brown lacked the support of her party in the election. She would lose by 6,491 votes. In 1957, she was appointed as the special associate general counsel of the US Post Office, where she would work until the Democrats returned to power in 1960. Tracy was the first black woman to hold this post. Later, Brown served as executive director of the President's Committee on Government Contracts, a committee formed to regulate fair employment practices by government contractors. Following ten years in private practice, she returned to Detroit (1970) and joined the Michigan Employment Security Commission as a referee.

In popular culture

A portrait of Brown, painted by Detroit artist Telitha Cumi Bowens, was included in the 1988/89 exhibit ''Ain't I A Woman'' at the Museum of African American History, Detroit. The exhibit featured a dozen prominent Black women from the state of Michigan, including

Ethelene Crockett Ethelene Jones Crockett (1914–1978) was an American physician and activist from Detroit. She was Michigan's first African-American female board certified OB/GYN, and the first woman to be president of the American Lung Association. In 1988, Cro ...

, Violet T. Lewis and

Lucy Thurman Lucy Thurman (October 22, 1849 – March 29, 1918) was a national temperance lecturer from Jackson, Michigan. Biography Lucinda "Lucy" Smith was born on October 22, 1849, in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada to Nehemiah Henry Smith and Katherine Camp ...

References