Thomas Norwood Brown (b. circa 1912 - d. 1989)
MSA SC 5496-050592
Alderman in Annapolis, Anne Arundel County, Maryland
Biography:
Thomas Norwood Brown was born around 1912. He was raised by his grandparents, James and Louise Boston, in the Camp Parole area near Annapolis.1 He attended the Stanton School, an elementary and secondary school on Washington Street in Annapolis.2 Brown married Reba Boyd (b. 1912) on November 21, 1929.3 They were living with the Bostons in 1930, when Brown was working as a "utility man" at the Naval Academy.4 However, he was married to Mary C. Campbell by 1954. Brown had two sons, Warren S. and Charles M.5
He was elected Alderman of the 7th Ward of Annapolis in 1950, making Annapolis the first city in Maryland to have three African American Alderman serving on a city council.6 That year, the other two Alderman were Dr. Oliver McNeill and Charles Oliver, both Republicans like Brown.7 In 1953, Governor Theodore McKeldin appointed Brown Justice of the Peace, making him the first African American to serve in that office in the county.8 A successful businessman as well as a community leader, Brown owned Arundel Cab Company at the time of his election.9 He was also serving as president of the Parole Improvement Association at the time of his election to Alderman.10 Brown also built the first Parole post office, of which he was Post Master by 1954. The office stood at 1979 West Street.11 He also advocated the construction of the first YMCA in that area. Furthermore, he "was instrumental in having the Parole area annexed to the city and ... served as its first alderman." In 1955, Brown built a "$50,000 Parole Drive-In," the Parole Confectionary, at 1977 West Street. The Baltimore Afro-American reported that "the food here is excellent."12
Brown served as Alderman from 1950 to 1967, and was reelected without opposition most years. The Washington Post and Baltimore Afro-American reported his unchallenged reelections in 1953, 1957, and 1965, although he may have run unopposed other years as well. Concerned by the number of African Americans who were not registered to vote, Brown told the Afro-American that "All of us feel that a campaign constructed through churches and civic organizations can bring our registration closer to its potential." The 1957 article contrasted the 48% of blacks registered in Anne Arundel County with the 85% of whites registered. However, the most recent registration campaign had increased the number of registered African American voters from 5,000 to 6,341.13
Independent candidate Norman L. Kirby unsuccessfully challenged Brown's aldermancy in 1961, with Brown winning 570 to 321.14 On October 9, 1967, Brown resigned as Alderman, and John T. Chambers, Jr., took his place in Ward 7.15 In 1977, Brown received "the first Dallas G. Pace Human Relations award honoring his community accomplisments."16
Following his long service on the city council, Brown joined the Annapolis Urban Renewal Authority as deputy director, retiring in 1978.17 In 1971, the Anne Arundel County YMCA elected him president. By 1972, he was also president of the Tuberculosis Association.18 In the late 1970s, Brown worked to encourage compromise in the debates over the creation of a memorial to Kunta Kinte at the Annapolis City Dock.19 Brown also served on the Banneker Douglass Museum Foundation's Board of Directors. He passed away on August 5, 1989, at the Good Samaritan Center in Phoenix, near his home in Arizona. At the time of Brown's death, Alderman Samuel Gilmer (Ward 3) described Brown as "a good man and a strong leader... a giant in the community." Brown was buried in St. Anne's cemetery.20
During his life, Thomas Norwood Brown was a member of the Annapolis
Chapter of the Frontiers of America (national third vice president, 1856),
the Annapolis Urban Renewal Authority, the Fairhaven Episcopal Retirement
Haven (board member), the NAACP, the Parole Improvement Association, St.
Phillip's Episcopal Church, the Summer Fest Committee, the Salvation Army,
the Universal Lodge No. 14 (grand junior warden 1855, grand senior warden
1960), and the YMCA.21
1. U.S. Census (Census Record, MD) for Norwood Brown, 1920, Anne Arundel County, Election District 2, District 122, Page 17 [MSA SM61-465, M 10101-3].
2. "Stanton Center (Stanton School)." AA-864. 90-92 W. Washington Street, Annapolis. Maryland Historical Trust. www.mdhip.net.
3. "Just Wed." Baltimore Afro-American 7 December 1929: A16. ProQuest Historical Newspapers, Baltimore Afro-American (1893-1988).
4. U.S. Census (Census Record, MD) for Norwood Brown, 1930, Anne Arundel County, Precinct 13, District 37, Page 3, Line 12 [MSA SM61-509, M 12914-2].
5. ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY
CIRCUIT COURT (Land Records), Liber JHH 881, Folio 63, [MSA CE 59-1225].
Mary Bell Herndon Scott White and Jesse White to Thomas Norwood Brown and
Mary C. Brown, November 18, 1954.
"Former Alderman
Brown Dies in Phoenix." The Capital 7 August 1989. Access Newspaper
Archive.
6. "3rd Legislator in Annapolis: Vote Increases State Capital's Size 9.450." Baltimore Afro-American 3 June 1950: 6.
7. Cliff Mackay"The Week's News in Tabloid." Baltimore Afro-American 3 June 1950: 9.
8. Photo Standalone 3 — No Title. Baltimore Afro-American 16 May 1953: 2.
9. Polk's City Annapolis (Anne Arundel County, Maryland) Directory: 1954 (Boston, MA: R. L. Polk & Co., Inc., 1954) 215.
10. "Union With Annapolis Voted By
11 Suburban Communities." The Washington Post 24 May 1950: 1.
"Former Alderman
Brown Dies in Phoenix." The Capital 7 August 1989.
11. "Annapolitans to Elect Mayor, 8
Aldermen."
The Capital 13 May 1961: 1 and 3.
Polk's
City Annapolis (Anne Arundel County, Maryland) Directory: 1954 (Boston,
MA: R. L. Polk & Co., Inc., 1954) 283.
12. "Around Annapolis and Back Home..."
Baltimore Afro-American 17 December 1955: 20.
ANNE
ARUNDEL COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT (Land Records), Liber JHH 881, Folio 63, [MSA
CE 59-1225]. Mary Bell Herndon Scott White and Jesse White to Thomas Norwood
Brown and Mary C. Brown, November 18, 1954.
Polk's
City Annapolis (Anne Arundel County, Maryland) Directory: 1954 (Boston,
MA: R. L. Polk & Co., Inc., 1954) 215.
13. "Anne Arundel County Has 7,395 Who Can Register." Baltimore Afro-American 27 July 1957: A5.
14. "Moyer Shows His 'Trophies.'" The
Capital 25 February 1977: 35.
"Mayor
Wins New Term in Annapolis."
The Washington Post 22 May 1957.
Photo
Standalone 3 — No Title. Baltimore Afro-American 16 May 1953: 2.
"Roger
W. Moyer Wins as Annapolis Mayor." The Washington Post 19 May 1965:
C15.
"Annapolis
Race Pits Campbell Against Griscom." The Washington Post 19 April
1961: D9.
"GOP
Victory." The Capital 17 May 1961: 1. Access Newspaper Archive.
15. ANNAPOLIS, MAYOR AND ALDERMEN,
(Election Papers), Date: 1965-1969, Location: 01/51/01/052, MSA Citation:
MSA T934-3. October 9, 1967, Page 253.October 9, 1967, Page 253.
Phyllis Myers.
Neighborhood Conservation: Lessons
from Three Cities. (Washington, D.C.: Conservation Foundation, 1977)
110.
16. "Former Alderman Brown Dies in Phoenix." The Capital 7 August 1989.
17. Ibid.
18. "Norwood Brown is New Y Prexy."
The
Capital 8 March 1971.
"Women's News:
Tuberculosis Association Honors Mrs. Don Moon." The Capital 16 May
1972.
19. "Memorial to Kinte Debated in Annapolis." The Washington Post 19 January 1978: MD7.
20. "Banneker Douglass Museum Foundation,
Inc.: 30th Anniversary." Pamphlet. 2006. http://bdmfoundation.org/documents/programbook.pdf.
"Former
Alderman Brown Dies in Phoenix." The Capital 7 August 1989.
21. Ibid.
Annapolis
Maryland City Directory. Vol. 1, no. 374 (Robert Morton Baldwin, 1957)
109.
B.M.
Phillips, "If You Ask Me ... We Shine in Columbus." Baltimore Afro-American
11 August 1956: 8.
"Maryland
Masons Hold 108th Session: Tribute Paid to Dr. Allen's 33 Years as Grand
Master." 27 August 1955: 8.
"Masons
Elect Sam Daniels: Dr. Willard W. Allen Retires After 37 Years as Grand
Master." 3 September 1960: 20.
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