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Larry Brown
Maker interview details
Interview
- August 10, 2005
Profession
- Category:
BusinessMakers
- Occupation(s):
Auto Sales Entrepreneur
Birthplace
- Born: April 21, 1947
- Birth Location: Inkster, Michigan
Favorites
- Favorite Color: Blue
- Favorite Food: Blueberries
- Favorite Time of Year: Summer
- Favorite Vacation Spot: Europe, Arizona
Favorite Quote
"Be What You Want To Be, Believe In Yourself, Do Not Accept 'No' As An Answer, And Just Do It."
Biography
Larry Thomas Brown, president of Ottawa Ford-Lincoln-Mercury and Kia of Ottawa, Illinois, and former owner of Star Toyota in Merrillville, Indiana and Landmark Ford in Niles, Illinois, is one of the first of two African Americans to serve on the National Automobile Dealers Association’s board of directors. Brown was born in Inkster, Michigan on April 21, 1947 to Mattie Lewis Brown and Nander Brown, a mechanic and preacher. Early in Brown’s life, the family moved to Detroit, Michigan where Brown began his education in the public school system.
After graduating from Western High School in Detroit, Brown served as sergeant in the United States Air Force from 1965 to 1969. He then returned to Michigan where he attended Wayne County Community College in Detroit while working at Ford Motor Company. In August of 1971, he married Angelina Caldwell Brown. He continued his education during the first years of his marriage, receiving his B.S. degree from Wayne State University in Detroit in 1973. Brown earned his M.A. degree in management and supervision from Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Michigan in 1979 and also graduated from the Ford Motor Company Dealer Training Program. He left Ford Motor Company to start his own dealership in 1985.
In addition to serving on the National Automobile Dealers Association’s board of directors, Brown served as chairman of its Dealership Operations and Industry Relations Committees and the Executive Board and Public Affairs Committees. Brown also served Ford-Lincoln-Mercury Minority Dealers Association as president, chairman, vice president of Ford Division, vice president of Customer Service Division and as treasurer. He is past president and chairman of National Association of Minority Automobile Dealerships and remains a board member.
Brown’s awards and honors include Operation PUSH’s Crystal Spirit Award, the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealership’s Jesse Jones Vision Award, Dollars and Sense magazine’s America’s Best and Brightest Award, and America’s Outstanding Dealer Award. He was inducted into Western High School’s Hall of Fame in 1994.
Previews from the Digital Archive
Watch the full interview in the Digital Archive
- Slating of Larry Brown's interview
- Larry Brown lists his favorites
- Larry Brown describes his mother's family background, pt. 1
- Larry Brown describes his mother's childhood
- Larry Brown describes his parent's relationship
- Larry Brown describes his father's childhood
- Larry Brown describes his parents and how he resembles them
- Larry Brown describes his siblings
- Larry Brown describes his earliest childhood memory
- Larry Brown lists the schools he attended
- Larry Brown describes his paper route
- Larry Brown remembers living near Briggs Stadium in Detroit, Michigan
- Larry Brown describes himself as a young boy
- Larry Brown describes his mother's family background, pt. 2
- Larry Brown recalls his experience in school
- Larry Brown remembers attending his father's church
- Larry Brown remembers Thanksgiving celebrations in Detroit, Michigan
- Larry Brown remembers losing weight as a teenager
- Larry Brown describes his activities at Detroit's Western High School
- Larry Brown remembers joining the U.S. Air Force
- Larry Brown remembers his time in the U.S. Air Force
- Larry Brown remembers Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination
- Larry Brown remembers attending Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan
- Larry Brown describes his aspirations as a young man
- Larry Brown explains why he left journalism for the automobile industry
- Larry Brown remembers being accepted to the Ford Minority Dealer Training Program
- Larry Brown describes the Ford Minority Dealer Training Program
- Larry Brown remembers earning his master's degree from Central Michigan University
- Larry Brown remembers his first dealership
- Larry Brown describes the Ottawa, Illinois area
- Larry Brown lists the car dealerships he has owned
- Larry Brown reflects upon his experience in the automobile industry
- Larry Brown remembers being elected as a director for the National Automotive Dealers Association
- Larry Brown lists his role models
- Larry Brown shares advice for aspiring automobile dealers
- Larry Brown describes his concerns for the African American community
- Larry Brown offers advice to young people
- Larry Brown reflects upon his legacy
- Larry Brown describes his family
- Larry Brown reflects upon the progress of black dealers in the automotive industry
- Larry Brown describes how he would like to be remembered