Lieutenant Governor | The HistoryMakers

The Honorable George L. Brown

The Honorable George Leslie Brown was born on July 1, 1926, in Lawrence, Kansas. Growing up on a farm in Kansas, Brown was a star athlete in basketball, football and track before graduating from Lawrence Liberty Memorial High School in 1944. During World War II, he served as a Tuskegee Airman.

Brown graduated from the University of Kansas in 1950 with a B.S. in journalism. He also did graduate work at Harvard Business School, the University of Colorado and the University of Denver. For fourteen years, he worked as a writer and editor for The Denver Post and hosted his own Denver radio talk show. He was the first African American editor to work for a major daily newspaper in the Rocky Mountains. Brown served as the assistant executive director for Denver’s Public Housing Program for four years and taught at the University of Colorado and the University of Denver.

In 1955, Brown made history when he was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives. He served as a state senator for eighteen years, and was reelected to five consecutive four-year terms. Then, in 1974, in the middle of his fifth Senate term, he was elected lieutenant governor, a position he held for four years. He was the nation’s first Black lieutenant governor.

In 1979, Brown joined the Grumman Corporation as vice president for marketing and was later promoted to senior vice president in charge of the firm’s regional offices, becoming the first African American corporate officer in a major U.S. aerospace company. He completed Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program in 1980 and worked as Grumman’s chief lobbyist in Washington, D.C., until he left Grunman in 1990. That year, Brown joined the Washington, D.C. law firm of Whitten & Diamond. In March 1994, he was named director for Prudential Securities and managed its Washington public finance office. He was a banker for Greenwich Partners from 1997 to 2000.

Brown was active on various boards and serves as a consultant and adviser for various organizations and companies. He received numerous awards and honors for his work. Brown was married to Modeen Brown. They had four daughters: Gail, Cindy, Kim and Laura.

Brown passed away on March 31, 2006 at age 79.

Accession Number

A2003.018

Sex

Male

Interview Date

1/23/2003

Last Name

Brown

Maker Category

PoliticalMakers

Marital Status

Married

Middle Name

Leslie

Occupation

Lieutenant Governor

State Representative

Organizations

Schools

Lincoln Elementary School

McAlister Grade School

Lawrence High School

University of Kansas

Harvard Business School

First Name

George

Birth City, State, Country

Lawrence

HM ID

BRO09

Favorite Season

Fall

State

Kansas

THM DA Link

http://marc.thehistorymakers.org/thmdigital/A2003.018.htm

Web Clip 1

https://thmdaprodmedia.blob.core.windows.net/media/story/video/93697

Favorite Vacation Destination

None

Favorite Quote

If I Didn't Know Better, I'd Think I Had Right Good Sense.

Bio Photo

Speakers Bureau Region State

District of Columbia

Birth Date

7/1/1926

Birth Place Term

Lawrence

Speakers Bureau Region City

Washington

Country

United States

Favorite Food

Potatoes (Mashed)

Death Date

3/31/2006

Short Description

Lieutenant governor and state representative The Honorable George L. Brown (1926 - 2006 ) was the first African American Colorado State Representative, State Senator and Lieutenant Governor.

Employment

United States Army Air Corps

Denver Post

Denver Housing Authority

University of Colorado

University of Denver

Colorado General Assembly

State of Colorado

Grumman Corporation

Whitten & Diamond

Prudential Securities

Greenwich Partners

Favorite Color

Blue

Web Clip 2

https://thmdaprodmedia.blob.core.windows.net/media/story/video/93731

Timing Pairs

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DAStories

Tape: 1 Story: 1 - Slating of George L. Brown's interview

Tape: 1 Story: 2 - George L. Brown lists his favorites

Tape: 1 Story: 3 - George L. Brown describes his mother's personality

Tape: 1 Story: 4 - George L. Brown describes his mother's family background

Tape: 1 Story: 5 - George L. Brown describes his father's family background

Tape: 1 Story: 6 - George L. Brown describes his relationship with his father

Tape: 1 Story: 7 - George L. Brown describes his father's personality

Tape: 1 Story: 8 - George L. Brown describes how his parents met

Tape: 1 Story: 9 - George L. Brown shares his father's reaction to the day he was born

Tape: 1 Story: 10 - George L. Brown describes his earliest childhood memories

Tape: 1 Story: 11 - George L. Brown describes the sights, sounds, and smells of his childhood

Tape: 1 Story: 12 - George L. Brown describes his experience at Lincoln Elementary School and his love of learning

Tape: 2 Story: 1 - George L. Brown describes his experience on his family's farm in Lawrence, Kansas

Tape: 2 Story: 2 - George L. Brown describes his childhood personality

Tape: 2 Story: 3 - George L. Brown lists the schools he attended in Lawrence, Kansas

Tape: 2 Story: 4 - George L. Brown describes his experience studying engineering and journalism at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas

Tape: 2 Story: 5 - George L. Brown describes being hired by the Denver Post

Tape: 2 Story: 6 - George L. Brown describes enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1944

Tape: 2 Story: 7 - George L. Brown describes his experience of segregation in the U.S. Army

Tape: 2 Story: 8 - George L. Brown talks about the sports he played at Liberty Memorial High School in Lawrence, Kansas

Tape: 2 Story: 9 - George L. Brown describes traveling to Biloxi, Mississippi after enlisting in the U.S. Army

Tape: 3 Story: 1 - George L. Brown lists some of the Tuskegee Airmen he trained with

Tape: 3 Story: 2 - George L. Brown describes being placed in college prep classes at Liberty Memorial High School in Lawrence, Kansas

Tape: 3 Story: 3 - George L. Brown describes his childhood experience with the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas

Tape: 3 Story: 4 - George L. Brown describes returning from the U.S. Army and attending the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas

Tape: 3 Story: 5 - George L. Brown describes the differences in journalism jobs in Kansas and in Denver, Colorado

Tape: 3 Story: 6 - George L. Brown talks about his promotion while at the Denver Post

Tape: 3 Story: 7 - George L. Brown describes his decision to campaign for the Colorado House of Representatives

Tape: 3 Story: 8 - George L. Brown describes his election to the Colorado House of Representatives in 1955

Tape: 3 Story: 9 - George L. Brown describes his election to the Colorado State Senate in 1957

Tape: 4 Story: 1 - George L. Brown talks about the black population in Denver, Colorado during his 1974 campaign for lieutenant governor

Tape: 4 Story: 2 - George L. Brown describes how the sample ballots for his 1957 election discriminated against him

Tape: 4 Story: 3 - George L. Brown describes building his coalition in Colorado

Tape: 4 Story: 4 - George L. Brown talks about Barney Ford and the history of African Americans in Colorado

Tape: 4 Story: 5 - George L. Brown lists his occupations while he was in the Colorado State Senate

Tape: 4 Story: 6 - George L. Brown describes how he became an effective politician during his career

Tape: 4 Story: 7 - George L. Brown lists others who shared his concerns

Tape: 4 Story: 8 - George L. Brown describes his aversion to running for office

Tape: 4 Story: 9 - George L. Brown describes using a pocket veto to pass his Fair Employment Practices Bill

Tape: 5 Story: 1 - George L. Brown describes gerrymandering and redistricting in the State Senate

Tape: 5 Story: 2 - George L. Brown describes changes that occurred in Denver, Colorado during his nineteen years in the state legislature

Tape: 5 Story: 3 - George L. Brown describes compromising to pass his Fair Employment Practices Bill

Tape: 5 Story: 4 - George L. Brown describes the relationship between politicians and the press after the Watergate Scandal

Tape: 5 Story: 5 - George L. Brown lists some of the Colorado politicians who served with him on the Joint Budget Committee

Tape: 5 Story: 6 - George L. Brown describes his decision to run for lieutenant governor of Colorado

Tape: 5 Story: 7 - George L. Brown describes his relationship with Colorado Governor Richard "Dick" Lamm, pt. 1

Tape: 5 Story: 8 - George L. Brown describes his relationship with Colorado Governor Richard "Dick" Lamm, pt. 2

Tape: 5 Story: 9 - George L. Brown describes his responsibilities as lieutenant governor of Colorado

Tape: 5 Story: 10 - George L. Brown describes being hired at Grumman Aerospace Corporation while serving as lieutenant governor of Colorado

Tape: 5 Story: 11 - George L. Brown talks about other African American politicians in Colorado

Tape: 6 Story: 1 - George L. Brown describes becoming the chief lobbyist for the Grumman Corporation

Tape: 6 Story: 2 - George L. Brown describes the difference between his experience at Grumman Aerospace Corporation and being a politician

Tape: 6 Story: 3 - George L. Brown reflects on becoming the chief lobbyist for Grumman Aerospace Corporation

Tape: 6 Story: 4 - George L. Brown describes his experience as a lobbyist for Grumman Aerospace Corporation

Tape: 6 Story: 5 - George L. Brown describes his career after leaving Grumman Aerospace Corporation

Tape: 6 Story: 6 - George L. Brown reflects on getting older

Tape: 6 Story: 7 - George L. Brown reflects on the money he made during his career

Tape: 6 Story: 8 - George L. Brown reflects on whether he would run for political office in 2003

Tape: 6 Story: 9 - George L. Brown describes the contemporary African American leaders he respects

Tape: 6 Story: 10 - George L. Brown describes the qualities of a good politician

Tape: 7 Story: 1 - George L. Brown talks about the United States' contemporary foreign policy

Tape: 7 Story: 2 - George L. Brown describes what he would still like to do in his life

Tape: 7 Story: 3 - George L. Brown talks about Colorado Congresswoman Pat Schroeder

Tape: 7 Story: 4 - George L. Brown talks about HistoryMaker and Congressman Charles Rangel

Tape: 7 Story: 5 - George L. Brown talks about HistoryMaker and New York Mayor David Dinkins

Tape: 7 Story: 6 - George L. Brown reflects upon the decline in statewide African American elected officials

Tape: 7 Story: 7 - George L. Brown reflects upon his legacy

Tape: 7 Story: 8 - George L. Brown describes how he would like to be remembered

Tape: 7 Story: 9 - George L. Brown reflects upon his parents

Tape: 7 Story: 10 - George L. Brown describes his experience in the march from Selma to Montgomery

Tape: 7 Story: 11 - George L. Brown shares his views on Political Action Committees and the Electoral College

Tape: 8 Story: 1 - George L. Brown talks about promoting HistoryMaker Ed Dwight's career as a sculptor

Tape: 8 Story: 2 - George L. Brown describes how Denver, Colorado became a supportive city for African American politicians

Tape: 8 Story: 3 - George L. Brown reflects on how Denver, Colorado can serve as a template for other diverse cities, pt. 1

Tape: 8 Story: 4 - George L. Brown reflects on how Denver, Colorado can serve as a template for other diverse cities, pt. 2

Tape: 8 Story: 5 - George L. Brown narrates his photographs

DASession

1$1

DATape

2$6

DAStory

5$1

DATitle

George L. Brown describes being hired by the Denver Post

George L. Brown describes becoming the chief lobbyist for the Grumman Corporation

Transcript

I had sixteen different job offers. Many of my classmates had none or very few. But they were strange offers. Like, one newspaper said that I could cover the black community, and I could, on Thursdays, I'd have two pages, which all the black news would be run; another one on Sunday or so forth. The one that sounded intriguing was the "Denver Post." And, yet, their response to me was that they wanted me to come out for an interview. And I'd put that aside immediately and then wrote them a short little letter saying, "Thank you, but that I couldn't afford to just run around the country on interviews. I had to have a definite offer." And I got a wire back--telegram back almost immediately as soon as they received it saying that, they're sorry that they had really meant that they were going to pay my way out. And so I went out to Denver [Colorado] for an interview, and I got there--it's another story. I get--took the train out, and I got to Denver, stayed at the "Y," and I went over to the newspaper the first thing in the--the next morning. And I go up to the second floor, which is where the editor's department was. And the editor and publisher was a guy named [Edwin] Palmer Hoyt, whom I was supposed to go see; and [Edmund] Ed Dooley was the city editor. And so there was this lady at the reception desk as you get off the elevator, and I said, "I'd like to see Mr. Palmer Hoyt." And she said, "Who are you?" And I gave her my name, and she says, "What do you want?" I says, "Well, I here to see about a job." And she says, "Well, I know we're not hiring anybody." And I said, "Oh?" And she says, "And I don't have any note that you have an interview scheduled." You can just-- I was devastated. So I went back down to the first floor and standing in the lobby, and the "Denver Post" had just opened a new building, and they had tours and I saw this tour forming and they were going to take them through the plants so they could see how newspaper was made. And since I didn't know how newspaper was made, I said, "Well, I guess I may as well do that and figure out when I'm going to go back home." So I joined the tour, and we went through. And when we got up to the second floor, we came through the back door, and I was right in the middle of the newsroom and, of course, I recognized the newsroom from my short stint at the--on the college paper at the university. And so I saw a fellow, and so I went up to him and I said, "I need to talk to Mr. Hoyt or Mr. Dooley." He says, "Well, I'm Mr. Dooley." He said that, "Who are you?" I said, "George Brown." He said, "Where have you been?" He says, "We've been expecting you. You were supposed to be here this morning." I said, "Well, I've been trying to get in here to see and Mr. Hoyt." So they said, "Well, we're off to lunch." And they took me to the press club for lunch and we talked. And by 1:30, we had decided that I was going to come to work for the "Denver Post." They were going to treat me like any other reporter, which is what I wanted. I didn't want any special treatment. I was going to sign as a cub reporter. They did give me a little more pay than they gave most cubs that came on at that time. And that was the beginning of my journalistic career.$$That's a pretty amazing story.$So you--so this is a whole different thing really, coming to Grumman [Aerospace Corporation, now Northrop Grumman].$$Mmhm.$$And they are--why don't you describe what they, you know, what type of organization it was. They're now Northrop Grumman. Right?$$Northrop Grumman. Right. Let me start as to how I got there. This fella named Jean Esquerry is a Tuskegee Airman, and I came back to New York to sign state bonds and to make a speech, and Jean said would I come out to Grumman where he worked. And he was in the Human Relations Department and wanted me to speak to their officers and talk about diversity and things like that. So I agreed. And I went and spoke at various plants. And towards the end of the afternoon, early evening, the CEO said he'd like to speak with me alone. And the two of us sat and talked and had a lot in common, guy named John Bierwirth--Jack Bierwirth, wonderful guy--and he said, "You know, we'd like you to join us, like, tomorrow." And that's when I said, "No, I want to serve out my term [as lieutenant governor of Colorado], but I'm interested if you're interested when it's over." And we soon came to an agreement that we--that I would do that. Grumman was a firm that had, at that point, no black officers. I was the first and some others followed. There were no women officers. There was a lot of nepotism. It was a non-union firm based in Long Island [New York], which meant that it had a high overhead because of its location competing with companies that had placed their headquarters in low cost employment areas; had good products; made outstanding airplanes during World War II, and had gotten--filled a niche in the space--in the--you know, the space vehicle, they had made most of the parts of that and the like. So it was a good firm. It was a good match for me, because I was expected with the CEO's support to make some changes, interior changes, within that firm; different ways of thinking; different opportunities so that minorities in the firm could look to doing something other than the lower-type jobs; and, yet, at the same time, thinking in terms of what I should help do as far as a national image in a industry image. However, when I talked to Jack, I said, "There's some things I don't want to do. I don't want to lobby." I said, "That's where I was, had done before, or have anything to do with Human Services. I don't want to be your Equal Opportunity Officer, and I don't want anything over in Public Relations." So as I thought about it, I said, "Hell, that's all I got to offer. That's been my history." To his credit, and I guess his belief in me, he said, "Fine." He said, "There are other things we can do and you can do." And so I went with one of the subsidiaries in the beginning, the one on energy systems. And then they sent me off to Harvard [Business School in Cambridge, Massachusetts] for that stint, and I came back and I started taking over some of the Human Services divisions. They came under me. And the next thing I knew, he called me in, he said, "Look. Would you like to--" or would you, not like to, "would you go to New York--" I mean, "to Washington [D.C.] as our chief lobbyist for a period of time?" And I said to myself, "Well, I know this is going to be a period of time until I'm out of here," but I realized I liked him and he had a need and if I can fill it, so I came and ran the Washington office and was our chief lobbyist at that time. And--well, I saw a lot of change at Grumman: some good and some bad, mostly good. And it was a good company. Good company.

Read more about The Honorable George L. Brown

Lt. Gov. Joe Rogers

Born in 1964, Joe Rogers grew up in Commerce, Colorado, and graduated from Adams City High School.

Rogers worked his way through Colorado State University, majoring in Business Administration, and went on to Arizona State University where he studied law. While at Arizona State, Rogers led the school to its first national championship by winning the American Bar Association Negotiation Competition, a contest involving 80 U.S. law schools.

After earning his law degree, Rogers helped provide free legal services for the poor in rural southeast Colorado as part of the Colorado Bar Association's Lend-A-Lawyer Program. Born into a family that spent eight years on welfare, Rogers went on to practice law with Davis, Graham & Stubbs, one of Colorado's top firms. He served as staff counsel for Colorado's U. S. Senator, Hank Brown, and advised on a wide range of issues related to business including telecommunications, transportation and housing. Later, in private practice, he served as general counsel to the Denver Parents Association, a conservative non-profit public policy group advocating school vouchers. On their behalf, Rogers filed a lawsuit against the Denver Board of Education.

In 1996, Rogers ran for Colorado's First Congressional District seat vacated by retiring Congresswoman Pat Schroeder (D-CO). Rogers, a black Republican, surprised skeptics by garnering 42 percent of the vote, including 50 percent of the black vote. Encouraged, Rogers broadened his appeal and ran for Lieutenant Governor in 1998. Colorado's population is overwhelmingly white-only 4 to 5 percent is African American and 13 percent is Hispanic. Rogers and gubernatorial running mate Bill Owens won by a nearly 60 percent - 40 percent margin. In 1999, Joseph B. "Joe" Rogers was sworn in as the youngest Lt. Governor in Colorado history.

Rogers served as chairman of the newly formed National Conference of Lieutenant Governors. He was a principal speaker at the 2000 GOP National Convention.

He passed away on October 7, 2013, at the age of 49.

Joe Rogers was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on June 17, 2002.

Accession Number

A2002.122

Sex

Male

Interview Date

6/17/2002

Last Name

Rogers

Maker Category

PoliticalMakers

Marital Status

Married

Occupation

Lieutenant Governor

Lawyer

Organizations

Schools

Adams City High School

Colorado State University

Arizona State University

First Name

Joe

Birth City, State, Country

Omaha

HM ID

ROG03

Favorite Season

Fall

State

Nebraska

THM DA Link

http://marc.thehistorymakers.org/thmdigital/A2002.122.htm

Web Clip 1

https://thmdaprodmedia.blob.core.windows.net/media/story/video/55644

Favorite Vacation Destination

Caribbean

Favorite Quote

Trust In The Lord With All Your Heart and Lean Not On Your Own Understanding; In All Your Ways Submit To Him, And He Will Make Your Paths Straight.

Bio Photo

Speakers Bureau Region State

Colorado

Birth Date

7/8/1964

Birth Place Term

Omaha

Speakers Bureau Region City

Denver

Country

United States

Favorite Food

Steak

Death Date

10/7/2013

Short Description

Lieutenant governor and lawyer Lt. Gov. Joe Rogers (1964 - 2013 ) was the youngest Lieutenant Governor of Colorado in history, and served as the chairman of the National Conference of Lieutenant Governors.

Employment

Davis, Graham & Stubbs

United States Senate

Denver Parents Association

State of Colorado

Favorite Color

Blue

Web Clip 2

https://thmdaprodmedia.blob.core.windows.net/media/story/video/55652

Timing Pairs

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DAStories

Tape: 1 Story: 1 - Slating of Joe Rogers' interview

Tape: 1 Story: 2 - Joe Rogers lists his favorites

Tape: 1 Story: 3 - Joe Rogers talks about his mother's background

Tape: 1 Story: 4 - Joe Rogers describes his maternal grandfather

Tape: 1 Story: 5 - Joe Rogers shares stories about his maternal grandfather

Tape: 1 Story: 6 - Joe Rogers describes his father

Tape: 1 Story: 7 - Joe Rogers describes his earliest memory

Tape: 1 Story: 8 - Joe Rogers talks about his family's struggle with poverty

Tape: 1 Story: 9 - Joe Rogers describes the sights, sounds and smells of his childhood

Tape: 1 Story: 10 - Joe Rogers lists his elementary schools

Tape: 1 Story: 11 - Joe Rogers describes his likeness to his parents

Tape: 2 Story: 1 - Joe Rogers recalls his influential teachers

Tape: 2 Story: 2 - Joe Rogers describes growing up in Commerce City, Colorado

Tape: 2 Story: 3 - Joe Rogers recalls when he stood up against school bullies

Tape: 2 Story: 4 - Joe Rogers talks about his school activities and being the speaker at his high school graduation

Tape: 2 Story: 5 - Joe Rogers remembers his determination to go to college

Tape: 2 Story: 6 - Joe Rogers shares his experiences at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado

Tape: 2 Story: 7 - Joe Rogers talks about his activism at Colorado State University

Tape: 2 Story: 8 - Joe Rogers describes attending law school at Arizona State University

Tape: 3 Story: 1 - Joe Rogers describes working for U.S. Senator Hank Brown

Tape: 3 Story: 2 - Joe Rogers talks about becoming a Republican

Tape: 3 Story: 3 - Joe Rogers describes losing his U.S. Congressional race in 1996

Tape: 3 Story: 4 - Joe Rogers shares his views on education reform

Tape: 3 Story: 5 - Joe Rogers talks about winning his election for Lieutenant Governor of Colorado

Tape: 3 Story: 6 - Joe Rogers recalls disagreeing with Governor Bill Owens on the role of Lieutenant Governor

Tape: 3 Story: 7 - Joe Rogers talks about how members of the black community responded to his Republicanism

Tape: 3 Story: 8 - Joe Rogers shares his views on being a black Republican

Tape: 4 Story: 1 - Joe Rogers describes holding the African American Republican Leadership Summit

Tape: 4 Story: 2 - Joe Rogers describes the philosophy developed at the African American Republican Leadership Summit

Tape: 4 Story: 3 - Joe Rogers shares his view on school vouchers

Tape: 4 Story: 4 - Joe Rogers talks about affirmative action and reparations

Tape: 4 Story: 5 - Joe Rogers talks about his upcoming Congressional race

Tape: 4 Story: 6 - Joe Rogers reflects upon his family's pride and his legacy

DASession

1$1

DATape

3$4

DAStory

1$1

DATitle

Joe Rogers describes working for U.S. Senator Hank Brown

Joe Rogers describes holding the African American Republican Leadership Summit

Transcript

So when you finished law school, is that when you worked as a--account--worked for U.S. Senator Hank Brown? Was that it or was that before?$$I finished up law school. Got a great offer. I couldn't believe it and I'd only mention this because it was so significant for our family. I had never worked in a law firm. I had no idea what lawyers made and I got an offer after my first year in college to work over the summer with a great firm called Snell and Wilmer and based in Phoenix, Arizona. And I'll never forget they told me that I was going to make $3,500 a month over the summer. Well, that was more than triple the amount that my family had made in any given month and I couldn't believe it. I thought that I'd gone to heaven, working in a big gun law firm with these top lawyers and everything else in between. And after my second year, I clerked again at Snell and Wilmer and then ended up working at Davis, Graham and Stubbs here in Denver [Colorado], which is one of the oldest to largest firms in the state. I was real proud about those opportunities. These were top gun law firms. And, again, for me to have the opportunities--this kid who grew up here in Denver to come back and be with the top law firms in two states, was a heck of an honor. After having practiced, I decided to come here to Colorado because my grandmother was sick and we knew that my grandmother might eventually not be with us and I wanted to be with her. And I didn't mention to you my grandmother. I should have mentioned a great deal about my grandmother more 'cause she was such a remarkable woman. But I wanted to come here to be with my grandmother, be with our family. So I accepted the offer at Davis, Graham and Stubbs and I came back to Denver. And I practiced at Davis, Graham and Stubbs for about four years in practice and then I received a golden phone call that came from our U.S. Senator from Colorado's office, Hank Brown. They were looking for a person to serve as counsel to the senator and previous partner who had worked at Davis, Graham and Stubbs was leaving that position to come back to Denver and my name came up as somebody they might want to have on board. And I spent some time visiting with Hank and made the decision that I would join him and his staff and went to Washington [D.C].$$And how long were you on his staff?$$A little over two years with Hank.$$Did you enjoy that?$$I really did. Hank Brown was a great man to work for. I joined him when I was a Democrat, of all things. I said, "Hank, you sure you wanna have a Democrat working for you in terms of your office?" And he said, "I'm absolutely certain." He said, "I understand you're talented and you have some abilities to help me in terms of doing my job better for the people of our state. And I said I'd love to help you. And so I went to Washington [D.C], frankly. After my experience of being with Hank for about, oh, four or five months in Washington, it's when I made the commitment that I would get involved in politics directly. And also made the decision in terms of my party--to change parties, politically. It was only after that experience of having been in Washington and, frankly, having to confront directly the issues of our day--issues of key public policy, that I understood exactly where I stood in terms of the orientation of public policy.$You really think people were crazy about fightin'? They aren't. But look at our movement. Look at the Civil Rights Movement. Look at what Medgar Evers did. Look at what a number of people did all throughout the South. In many respects, they had to drag people to try to find them to make a difference in their lives because they were content. Many people were not content but they didn't want to rock the boat. Many of our folks didn't want to rock the boat. That was just the reality of life. Leadership agitates and encourages the change.$$Okay, so the conference you held.$$Yes, I--we were proud as can be. Actually we held the conference about a year and a half ago. A little over a year and a half ago we brought together the first of its kind summit. It was the African American Republican Leadership Summit. And I had the vision of somehow trying to find a way to bring together African Americans who were Republicans throughout the United States together for the purpose of bringing people together to talk about essentially what we cared about. How is it that we expand our base and our presence in the context of this party? How is it that you help elect more people to office in various capacities? And how is it that we fight for the issues that we care about in terms of our communities and the context of the Republican Party? And that summit was overwhelmingly successful. I was very proud of that. Having hosted that here in Colorado. And my hope is that there will be continued to be good things that come about as a result of it. There have been. There are multiple, various, many summits that are taking place in various states throughout America, that have all taken place as a result. There are new efforts that are being engaged by African Americans throughout the country. Be asked to encourage people to join this party or to find ways to vote for candidates who they think are in their best interest. So there's a measure of success that we're having but, in my opinion, the dialog is never enough. There ought to be more. I want to see continuous activity to again agitate and to find a way to say yes, that we're going to have a voice and you aggressively seek to have that voice. But most importantly, to have people elected to various offices throughout the United States. I think that's critical. The political power for African Americans in the Democratic Party came as a result of us being elected in various capacities because that gave us a seat at the table and it put us within the room. At the end of the day you want to be in the room.

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