George Brown Legacy Project

12/29/2024

Undying decency: President redefined the post-Presidency. He also personified throughout his 100 years. Son of a nurse & farmer, he was a Naval Academy graduate & served aboard submarines. School Board member. Anti-segregation state Senator. Governor. President. Diplomat. Volunteer home builder for the unhoused. Bridge-builder. Peace-maker. Nobel Prize for Peace winner. Drum major for & .
We appreciate also his stepping up personally to endorse & support our work to organize & open the archives of his friend & colleague Rep. at UC Riverside. Like George, Jimmy Carter sought to use his voice & his power for good, relentlessly, to make the world more interconnected & aware of diversity, to protect the , & to open doors for the long-ignored for , opportunity, & . He did so through 10 decades.
As the late poet Nikki Giovanni said, before her own passing earlier this month, “I recommend old age. … There’s just nothing as wonderful as knowing you have done your job.”

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has died at home in Georgia.

10/25/2024

Penitence, & reckoning: 2 important words rang out today from Arizona to indigenous people in earshot & throughout America, from the President of the United States. “I apologize.”
The chronicling of unfathomable abuse, cruelty, dehumanization, & cultural erasure against Native people across decades of family separation, violence, & indenturement at so-called is in some ways just beginning. But this multi-dimensional chronicling & assessment of wrongs is making progress.
So is the official response of the American government that inflicted it, led by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, a member of the Laguna Pueblo. Without her principled leadership, & the partnership of President Joe Biden & Vice President Kamala Harris, this historic day of reckoning would not have come.
Against a national backdrop of right-wing rhetoric that speaks of “enemies within” & praising N***s & ”mass deportation” — the lexicon of sa**sm & depravity — this overdue act of penitence today is a powerful reminder of what unites us as Americans & the value of facing ugly chapters of history with honesty & courage. This is an example of honoring diversity not by empty tributes or feeble gestures, but with truthful documentation & collective navigation of trauma so that it might never be inflicted again.

President Biden in Arizona issued a formal presidential apology​ for the atrocities committed during a 150-year era of forced federal Indian boarding schools.

09/24/2024

“Never forget, we are here to serve the people, not the other way around.

“Because the future will be — the future will be won by those who unleash the full potential of their people to breathe free, to think freely, to innovate, to educate, to live and love openly, without fear.

“That’s the soul of . It does not belong to any one country.”

—President Joe Biden, in remarks before the United Nations General Assembly, Sept. 24, 2024

08/16/2024

Happy birthday, ! Your well-earned moment in the sun was delightfully air-conditioned — & filled with dozens of admirers & its own scrapbook of good stories. Extra delight to have on hand the next generation, & alongside . Thanks to the gracious & spacious hospitality of the Riverside Area RapeCrisisCenter & special guests including Member of Congress Mark Takano & Riverside Mayor for making this a joyful milestone where the spirit of the late, great Rep. was in the air.

10/20/2023

10 year celebration at Elementary School in , with hundreds of cheering K-6 students, teachers, & administrators. Youthful mariachi & folclórico dancers add spirit to this special occasion. Gloria Macías Harrison, San Bernardino Community College District proudly announces gift to school library & Hans Johnson announces new award for graduating seniors. “Tenacity” is the word of the day. George Brown would be very proud today.

07/05/2023

Change is coming to the ! The first openly transgender mayor in Calexico, , spotlights progress in public service & representation by long-ignored people in the heavily agricultural communities that the late Rep. , born in nearby Holtville, first called home.

A couple hours south of LGBTQ-friendly Palm Springs, the cities of Brawley and Calexico made major decisions affecting the LGBTQ community recently.

04/23/2023

There’s no shortcut to developing bonds of trust & honest representation in government based on strong local roots. Great to see Member of Congress , who serves on the Honorary Advisory Committee of the George Brown Legacy Project, gaining respect for service to Inland communities, built from the grassroots, with a little bit of inspiration from thrown in.

A decade ago, Pete Aguilar was mayor of Redlands. How did he become the highest-ranking Latino serving in Congress?

04/22/2023

Earth Day, born of protest & a bright star on the calendar: 53 years ago, Congressman blended the 1st into his campaign for U.S. Senate. It remained a major milestone for him throughout the 1980s & 1990s. Today, its urgency has only grown. Reminder that the deadline for brief letters of application for the Rep. George & Marta Brown is fast approaching, on May 1. Send that email to [email protected] Details here in the attached flier.