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Blog Category: Ron Brown

Honoring the Memory of Ron Brown

Submitted on April 3, 2013 - 10:15am
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Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown

Cross post from the White House Blog

The following blog post was written by U.S. Commerce Deputy Secretary Rebecca Blank and Special Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation Jonathan Greenblatt.

Today, we honor the anniversary of the passing of former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown. Secretary Brown was a dedicated public servant whose untimely death during a trade mission to Croatia on April 3, 1996 ended his life far too soon. His vision continues to be important and today’s work at the Department of Commerce builds on his legacy. 

Secretary Brown served his country in Korea as a soldier in the U.S. Army and in the halls of Congress as chief counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee. He also broke down barriers – becoming the first African American chairman of the Democratic National Committee and the first African American to serve as U.S. Secretary of Commerce. In this latter role, he made perhaps his largest impact.

During his tenure at Commerce, Secretary Brown pioneered a focus on exports that helped to boost the U.S. economy in the 1990s and contributed to one of the largest periods of economic expansion in our nation’s history. During a time when emerging markets in Asia and Latin America were opening up to trade, Secretary Brown led a concerted effort to support this advancement and to secure access for U.S. goods and services. He was a proponent of free trade, seeing business as a powerful force to create good jobs at home and to accelerate prosperity around the world. He also was an advocate of fair trade, seeking to ensure that U.S. workers would be helped and not harmed by new trading arrangements that would increase flows of capital and commerce.

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Secretary Locke and the Department of Commerce Celebrate the Accomplishments and Legacy of the Late U.S. Commerce Secretary Ron Brown

Submitted on March 25, 2011 - 12:15pm
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Secretary Locke and Others Watch the Unveiling of Ron Brown Way

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke participated in a ceremony this morning dedicating a stretch of 14th Street in front of the U.S. Commerce Department building as Ron Brown Way.

With Secretary Brown’s wife, Alma, his children Michael and Tracy and their families as honored guests, Locke joined in paying tribute to the late Secretary who, with 34 others, lost his life while on a trade mission to Croatia 15 years ago.

“This is a fitting tribute to a man who was born in Washington, D.C. and spent his life working to deliver economic and social justice for people in this city, across America and, indeed, around the world,” Locke said. “The dedication of Ron Brown Way will help ensure that what Ron Brown did and what he stood for won’t ever be forgotten.”

Speakers at the celebration of Brown’s legacy included Ron’s son Michael, who is D.C. Councilmember at Large, and D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray.

Following the dedication ceremony, the Brown family joined Locke at the Commerce Department for a presentation of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) flag that was flown aboard the NOAA ship Ronald H. Brown, and a ceremonial wreath laying. Locke spoke of Brown’s trailblazing efforts to extend economic opportunity to all, and of his fierce advocacy for the Department and the great people who work here.

Locke said that Brown’s work endures through the hundreds of dedicated Commerce employees who still believe in his mission for the department and work hard each day to continue his legacy of service.

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