Laura A. Brown
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Laura A. Brown, ''nee'' Penn (1874–1924) was an American activist and local politician. She was the first African-American to run for the state legislature in Pennsylvania.


Personal life

Brown was born Laura Penn on November 8, 1874, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. She married George Brown at a young age. They lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and had one daughter.


Public life

Brown was an active member of the Pennsylvania Federation of Colored Women's Clubs and her church choir. During World War I, Brown led a
war savings stamp War savings stamps were issued by the United States Treasury Department to help fund participation in World War I and World War II. Although these stamps were distinct from the postal savings stamps issued by the United States Post Office Dep ...
campaign that allowed individual citizens to help fund the U.S. war effort. Later, during Warren G. Harding's presidential campaign, Brown became a member of the executive board of the Republican Women's Committee of Allegheny County and the Republican Council of Women of the City-County Federation of Allegheny. In 1922, Brown became the first African-American to run for state legislature in Pennsylvania as a candidate for the First District in
Allegheny County Allegheny County () is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in Southwestern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,250,578, making it the state's seco ...
. She did not win election.


References

1874 births 1924 deaths Pennsylvania Republicans People from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Politicians from Pittsburgh African-American women in politics 20th-century African-American politicians 20th-century American politicians 20th-century African-American women 20th-century American women politicians {{Pennsylvania-politician-stub