Aja Brown (1982- )

August 22, 2017 
/ Contributed By: Ayala Feder-Haugabook

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Aja Brown

Public Domain Image

Aja Brown, October 11, 2013

Image Ownership: Public Domain

Aja Brown serves as the youngest and first female mayor of Compton, California.

Brown was born in Altadena, California, to Brenda Jackson on April 17, 1982. Brown attended John Muir High School in Pasadena and was elected president of her senior class. After graduating high school in 2000, Brown attended the University of Southern California (USC), where she received a bachelorโ€™s degree in public policy, urban planning, and development in 2004. She later received her masterโ€™s degree in urban planning with a concentration in economic development from USCโ€™s Price School of Public Policy in 2005.

After graduate school, Brown became involved in public service, working as an economic development analyst with the city of Gardena. In 2006, she began working as an urban planner in Inglewood and later worked in Compton as a project manager in Comptonโ€™s Redevelopment Agency in 2009.

In June 2013, Brown was elected the youngest mayor in Comptonโ€™s history. As mayor, Brown tackled many of Comptonโ€™s social problems, such as gang activity and human sex trafficking. For instance, she worked to eliminate hourly motel rentals, which largely promoted sex work and trafficking in the city. In addition, Brown created Compton Empowered, an organization that tackles gang issues by offering employment opportunities and empowering former gang members to restore their neighborhoods and promote peace. Brownโ€™s efforts have contributed to a 50 percent decrease in homicides between 2014 and 2015, and have also reduced the unemployment rate from 50 percent in July of 2013 to 9 percent in December 2015.

In June 2017, Brown was reelected to a second four-year term as mayor. She is married to Van Brown, a petrochemical safety manager.

About the Author

Author Profile

Ayala Feder-Haugabook is a graduate of the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington with a bachelorโ€™s degree in Psychology and minors in Education and Diversity. She will be returning to the University of Washington to complete a graduate degree in social work and has interests in working with youth and in social services.

CITE THIS ENTRY IN APA FORMAT:

Feder-Haugabook, A. (2017, August 22). Aja Brown (1982- ). BlackPast.org. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/brown-aja-1982/

Source of the Author's Information:

Aja Brownโ€™s website, http://ajabrown.com/; Amy Ephron, โ€œYou Can Call Her Mayor Brown: How Aja Brown Is Transforming the City of Compton,โ€ Vogue, September 9, 2013; Jonathan P. Hicks, โ€œAja Brown: A History-Making Mayor in Compton,โ€ BET, March 18, 2014; Patrick Range McDonald, โ€œCan Aja Brown, Comptonโ€™s Hip, Refreshing Reform Mayor, Turn This Woeful City Around?,โ€ LA Weekly, July 18, 2013; and Benjamin Oreskes, โ€œCompton Mayor Aja Brown Wins Second Term,โ€ LA Times, June 6, 2017, http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-compton-mayor-20170606-story.html.

Further Reading