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, U.S.
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 – died December 17, 1972) was a groundbreaking American politician. She made history as the first African-American woman to be elected to a state senate in the United States. She won her seat in the Michigan Senate in 1952. Brown was a member of the Democratic Party and represented the city of Detroit.

Cora Brown: A Pioneer in Politics
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Cora Brown: A Pioneer in Politics

Cora Mae Brown was an important figure in American politics and civil rights. Her journey from a small town in Alabama to the Michigan State Senate shows her dedication. She worked hard to make a difference for people in her community.

Her Early Life and Family

Cora Mae Brown was the only child of Richard and Alice Brown. She was born in Bessemer, Alabama, on April 19, 1914. When her family faced tough economic times, her grandparents encouraged them to move north. They hoped for better opportunities in Michigan.

At eight years old, Cora moved to Detroit, Michigan, with her family in 1922. Her father opened a tailor shop there. It was supported by the many workers in Detroit's car factories. They lived in a neighborhood with people from many different backgrounds.

Education and Early Career

When Cora's family moved to Detroit, she enrolled at the Bishop School. Here, she first experienced unfair treatment because of her race. A classmate used a negative term to describe her.

In 1931, Cora graduated from Cass Technical High School. She then attended Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. Fisk is a historically black college, which means it was founded to educate African-American students. Cora first thought about studying medicine. However, she found it too difficult and changed her focus to sociology.

At Fisk, she studied sociology with a famous sociologist, E. Franklin Frazier. She earned her degree in 1935. To help pay for college, Cora worked at a summer camp for children in need. She was very active in student political groups from 1931 to 1935. This commitment grew stronger after she learned about an act of injustice against a young Black man in Columbia, Tennessee. Her actions on campus showed her lifelong dedication to fairness and equality.

Becoming a Lawyer

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 legal issues. This experience inspired her to attend Wayne State University's law school. She passed the bar examination and became a lawyer just two weeks after graduating in 1948.

Fighting for Justice: Legal Work

After graduating from Fisk University in 1935, Cora became a social worker. The economic crash of 1929, known as the Great Depression, created a great need for social workers. For five years, she helped homeless people in Detroit cope with the difficult 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 as a special associate general counsel for the US Post Office. After this, she moved to Los Angeles. There, she opened her own small law practice. She worked as a lawyer until she returned to Detroit in 1970.

Cora was also very involved in many groups that worked for civil rights and community improvement. She worked with the NAACP, the YWCA, the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, and the New Calvary Baptist Church.

Making a Difference: Political Journey

Cora Brown's involvement in politics began during her time at Fisk University. As a student, she took part in demonstrations. Writer Edward T. Clayton praised her for her "willingness to battle injustice."

In 1950 and 1951, she ran for a seat in the Michigan State Senate but did not win. 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.

Championing Civil Rights

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

Brown was a strong advocate for civil rights. She introduced several bills that helped expand these rights in Michigan. One bill increased the fines for restaurants and hotels that treated people unfairly because of their race. Another bill, introduced in 1956, aimed to remove business licenses from companies that discriminated based on race. Cora Brown was also known as a women's rights activist. She worked to protect children and families from inappropriate content. Newspapers often 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. She challenged another popular Democrat. She urged voters not to support representatives who did not openly back the Civil Rights Movement. This decision meant she lost the support of the United Auto Workers Union and her own Democratic Party.

In 1956, she supported Dwight Eisenhower for re-election, even though he was a Republican. She chose him over the Democratic candidate, Adlai Stevenson, because of Eisenhower's views on civil rights. That same year, Brown tried to win a seat in Congress. She announced her candidacy for the Democratic Primary for US representative from Michigan's 1st District. This was after she was named the Outstanding Woman Legislator of the year in 1956. However, she did not have enough support from her party and lost the election.

Later Public Service Roles

In 1957, Cora Brown was appointed as the special associate general counsel of the US Post Office. She worked there until the Democrats regained power in 1960. She was the first Black woman to hold this important position. Later, Brown served as executive director of the President's Committee on Government Contracts. This committee worked to ensure fair employment practices by government contractors. 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.