LaTosha Brown
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LaTosha Brown is an American community organizer,
political strategist Political consulting is a form of consulting that consists primarily of advising and assisting political campaigns. Although the most important role of political consultants is arguably the development and production of mass media (largely tel ...
, and consultant. She is the co-founder of the voting rights group Black Voters Matter, which has been noted for its work on the 2017 U.S. Senate special election in Alabama and its influence during the
2020–21 Georgia state elections Several elections took place in the U.S state of Georgia in 2020. The general election was held on November 3, 2020, and the runoff on January 5, 2021. A combined partisan primary for president and all other offices on the ballot was held on Jun ...
. Brown was born in Selma, Alabama and attended Selma High School and
Auburn University at Montgomery Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM) is a public university in Montgomery, Alabama. Established by an act of the Alabama Legislature in 1967, it is governed by the Auburn University Board of Trustees as a member of the Auburn University syste ...
. After unsuccessful bids for the Alabama State Board of Education and the Alabama House of Representatives, Brown began working and founding a series of nonprofit organizations centered around disaster relief,
Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...
voting rights, and funding grassroots community development initiatives. In 2016, Brown and fellow activist Cliff Albright founded Black Voters Matter, an organization whose work is credited with significant
voter registration In electoral systems, voter registration (or enrollment) is the requirement that a person otherwise eligible to vote must register (or enroll) on an electoral roll, which is usually a prerequisite for being entitled or permitted to vote. The r ...
and
get out the vote "Get out the vote" or "getting out the vote" (GOTV) describes efforts aimed at increasing the voter turnout in elections. In countries that do not have or enforce compulsory voting, voter turnout can be low, sometimes even below a third of the ...
efforts in several elections, notably that of United States Senator Doug Jones of
Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...
in 2017; the 2020–21 United States Senate election in Georgia; and the
2020–21 United States Senate special election in Georgia The 2020–21 United States Senate special election in Georgia was held on November 3, 2020, and on January 5, 2021 (as a runoff), to elect the Class III member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Georgia. Democrat Raphae ...
.


Early life and education

Brown was born in 1970 in Selma, Alabama to a farming family. She attended Baptist churches as a child. Brown's parents separated when Brown was young, and she and her mother moved in with Brown's maternal grandparents in Mobile, Alabama. Brown describes her grandmother as her "soulmate" and a significant influence in her life; from the age of six Brown accompanied her grandmother to the polls where her grandmother "dressed in her Sunday best" and emphasized the importance of her ability to vote: She was born in 1910 and not permitted to do so for most of her life. Brown's grandfather, who had been similarly denied access to the polls throughout his life, carried a poll tax receipt in his wallet as a reminder. Brown was fascinated with power from a young age: She recalls frequently asking her mother who the owner or leader was each time they entered a restaurant, store or church. Brown attended Selma High School and had early aspirations of becoming a jazz singer, an interest that she continually incorporates into her work. She attended Auburn University at Mongtomery where she studied political science and government. She became a mother during this time and left the university, taking a job at a clothing shop where she began her activism, discussing with customers the books she was reading to pass the time at work.


Bids for political office


State Board of Education

In 1998, Brown ran for the Democratic nomination for the Alabama State Board of Education's fifth district seat. Her opponent was fellow Democrat Willie J. Paul. After a week-long count of the ballots Paul was declared the winner by fewer than 200 votes. After the results were certified, the Wilcox County sheriff admitted to storing 800 uncounted ballots in a safe. Since the ballots were discovered after the election was certified, Brown was told they could not be counted. Her only recourse was a lawsuit, which she was not financially able to pursue.


Alabama House of Representatives

In 2002, Brown ran for the Alabama House of Representatives District 67 seat against fellow Democrat Yusuf Salaam. On June 25, Salaam won the runoff election by 138 votes. Brown officially contested the election. In a June 27 press conference from the Dallas County Courthouse Annex, she and her advisors alleged several irregularities within the voting records, including
crossover voting In primary elections in the United States, crossover voting refers to a behavior in which voters cast ballots for a party with which they are not traditionally affiliated. Even in the instance of closed primary elections, in which voters are req ...
, missing voter lists, illegally opened election boxes, and votes from deceased individuals.


Nonprofit work


TruthSpeaks Consulting

In 2004, Brown founded TruthSpeaks Consulting, a philanthropy advisory consulting firm in Atlanta, GA.


Southern Black Girls and Women’s Consortium

In her position with TruthSpeaks Consulting, Brown founded the Southern Black Girls and Women’s Consortium in 2018. "to create a new philanthropic model and framework that will increase investments for Black girls and women in the south." In 2020, the Consortium announced a ten-year, $100 million initiative to support local community organizations in several southern towns and cities who support the empowerment of Black girls and women.


Hurricane Katrina/Gulf crisis response

Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Brown founded and chaired the disaster relief organization Saving OurSelves Coalition, which organized local churches and community organizations to bring food, shelter and medical care to Mississippi and Alabama communities devastated by the storm. In 2010, Brown also co-founded and served as the first Executive Director of the
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that currently advises on and manages more than $200 million in annual charitable giving. Its headquarters are in New York City New York, oft ...
’ Gulf Coast Fund for Community Renewal and Ecological Health. During her tenure, the organization gained national prominence, secured partnerships and granted more than $6 million to grassroots organizations throughout the Gulf Coast to help with both hurricane recovery and the aftermath of the
Deepwater Horizon oil spill The ''Deepwater Horizon'' oil spill (also referred to as the "BP oil spill") was an industrial disaster that began on 20 April 2010 off of the coast of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect, considere ...
.


Grantmakers for Southern Progress

In 2014 Brown was made the project director of ''Grantmakers for Southern Progress'', a working group of the Neighborhood Funders Group.


Black Voters Matter

In 2016, Brown and her friend Cliff Albright founded Black Voters Matter (BVM), a
501(c)(4) A 501(c) organization is a nonprofit organization in the federal law of the United States according to Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)) and is one of over 29 types of nonprofit organizations exempt from some federal income taxes. ...
organization to connect with and support grassroots community infrastructure in Black communities in the
Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
. Although BVM is credited with significantly combatting voter suppression in key Senate races in 2017, 2020 and 2021, Brown maintains that BVM's work is about Black voters asserting and assuming power by exercising their right to vote.


Philosophy

Brown's work is focused on challenging
Conservatism Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...
in the American South, and the effects of
voter suppression Voter suppression is a strategy used to influence the outcome of an election by discouraging or preventing specific groups of people from voting. It is distinguished from political campaigning in that campaigning attempts to change likely voting ...
, particularly concerning Black Americans. She emphasizes the importance of supporting Black women and girls from a young age, citing the intersection of racism and sexism they experience.


Personal life

Brown is also a jazz singer. "Currently, she serves on the board of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, the Southern Documentary Fund, the U.S. Human Rights Network and the Congressional Progressive Caucus Center."


Awards

*2006 Spirit of Democracy Award *University of Maryland Baltimore County Louis E. Burnham Award for Human Rights *2010 Obama White House Champions of Change award *Selma-To-Montgomery Foundation's Bridge Crossing Jubilee Award *2018 Liberty Bell Award recipient *2020 Hauser Leader, Harvard Kennedy School Center for Public Leadership *Fellowship,
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
's Institute of Politics.


References


External links


Official websiteLaTosha Brown on TwitterLaTosha Brown on InstagramBlack Voters Matter FundCleaning Up the Dirty South
presentation by Brown at TEDxOilSpill
Southern Black Girls and Women's ConsortiumGrantmakers for Southern Progress
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, LaTosha 1970s births Living people Activists from Selma, Alabama American political activists American nonprofit businesspeople Auburn University at Montgomery alumni