Cora Brown facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cora Brown
Member of the Michigan Senate from the 2nd district
In office January 14, 1953 – December 31, 1954
Preceded by	Bristoe Bryant
Succeeded by	Stanley F. Rozycki
Member of the Michigan Senate from the 3rd district
In office January 12, 1955 – December 31, 1956
Preceded by	Charles Diggs
Succeeded by	Basil W. Brown
Personal details
Born	Cora Mae Brown (1914-04-19)April 19, 1914 Bessemer, Alabama
Died	December 17, 1972(1972-12-17) (aged 58)
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	Cass Technical High School Fisk University

Cora Mae Brown (born April 19, 1914 – December 17, 1972) made history. She was the first African-American woman to be elected to a state senate in the United States. This means people voted for her, she wasn't just chosen. She won her seat in the Michigan State Senate in 1952. Brown was a member of the Democratic Party and represented the city of Detroit.

Cora Brown's Early Life

Cora Mae Brown was the only child of Richard and Alice Brown. She was born in Bessemer, Alabama, on April 19, 1914. Her family hoped for a better life and moved to Birmingham. When things didn't improve there, her grandparents encouraged them to move north to Michigan.

At age 8, Cora moved to Detroit, Michigan, with her family. Her father opened a tailor shop there. Many car factory workers in Detroit supported his business. They lived in a neighborhood with people from many different backgrounds.

Cora Brown's Education Journey

When Cora's family moved to Detroit in 1922, she started at the Bishop School. Here, she first faced unfair treatment because of her race. A German classmate called her "schwarze," which means "black woman" and was used in a negative way.

In 1931, she graduated from Cass Technical High School. She then went to Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. This was a historically black college, a school created for African-American students. Cora first wanted to study medicine. But she found it too hard to look at bodies used for medical study.

She quickly changed her focus to studying how societies work and how people interact (called sociology). At Fisk, she studied with a famous sociologist named E. Franklin Frazier. She earned her degree in sociology. To help pay for college, Cora worked at a summer camp for kids who didn't have many advantages. Cora was very active in student political groups from 1931 to 1935. Her actions showed her strong dedication to fairness and justice throughout her life.

After graduating, Cora returned to Detroit. From 1941 to 1946, she worked as a policewoman in the Detroit Police Department's Women's Division. Many of her cases involved criminal law. This inspired her to attend Wayne State University's law school. She passed the bar exam, which lets you practice law, just two weeks after she graduated in 1948.

Cora Brown's Legal Career

After graduating from Fisk University in 1935, Cora became a social worker. This was a time when many people needed help because of the Great Depression, a big economic crisis. For five years, she helped homeless people in Detroit deal with the tough times.

At 37, Cora worked as a lawyer in Detroit, focusing on fines. She earned a good living and lived with her mother.

Later, she worked for the US Post Office as a special associate general counsel. After this, she moved to Los Angeles. She opened a small law practice there and worked as a lawyer until she returned to Detroit in 1970.

Cora Brown was also involved in many groups that worked for civil rights and helped build communities. She worked with the NAACP, the YWCA, the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, and the New Calvary Baptist Church.

Cora Brown's Political Career

Cora Brown's interest in politics started when she was a student at Fisk University. She took part in protests and was praised for her "willingness to battle injustice."

In 1950 and 1951, she tried to win a seat in the Michigan State Senate but lost. These experiences helped her make better choices for her 1952 campaign. She went door-to-door and used trucks to share her message with voters in Detroit. Her campaign focused on improving hospitals, social services, and reducing unfair treatment based on race.

Cora's victory in 1952 allowed her to serve two terms, from 1953 to 1956. At that time, a Michigan State Senate term lasted about two years. She served for the 2nd District in her first term and the 3rd District in her second term. While in the Senate, she worked on committees for welfare, public services, and health.

Brown strongly fought for civil rights. She introduced several bills that helped expand civil rights in Michigan. One bill increased the fines for restaurants and hotels that treated people unfairly because of their race, from $25 to $100. Another bill in 1956 said that businesses that discriminated based on race should lose their licenses. Cora Brown was also known as a champion for women's rights. Newspapers called her the "champion of the underprivileged."

Sometimes, Cora disagreed with other members of her Democratic Party. Her strong focus on issues like education, civil rights, health, and labor often challenged more traditional members of her party. In her 1956 election, she decided to run in a different district, challenging another popular Democrat. She told voters not to support politicians who wouldn't openly back the Civil Rights Movement. This cost her the support of the United Auto Workers Union and her own Democratic Party.

She supported Dwight Eisenhower when he ran for re-election in 1956, even though he was a Republican. She did this because she liked his views on civil rights more than the Democratic candidate's. In the same year, Brown tried to win a seat in Congress. She announced her plan to run in the Democratic Primary for US Representative from Michigan's 1st District. This happened after she was named the Outstanding Woman Legislator of the year in 1956. But Cora didn't have enough support from her party and lost the election.

In 1957, she was appointed as a special lawyer for the US Post Office. She worked there until the Democrats returned to power in 1960. Cora Brown was the first black woman to hold this important job. Later, she led a committee that made sure government contractors treated all employees fairly. After ten years working as a private lawyer, she returned to Detroit in 1970. She then joined the Michigan Employment Security Commission as a referee.

Cora Brown in Popular Culture

A painting of Cora Brown, made by Detroit artist Telitha Cumi Bowens, was part of an art show in 1988-1989. The show was called Ain't I A Woman and was held at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit. The exhibit showed portraits of twelve important Black women from Michigan, including Ethelene Crockett, Violet T. Lewis, and Lucy Thurman.

See Also

• List of African-American firsts
• List of people from Detroit
• Michigan Women's Hall of Fame