Mr. Dwight Brooks Brown

Celebration of the Life of Dwight Brooks Brown Dwight Brooks Brown was born on September 15, 1954 in Little Rock, Arkansas, the fourth child of Willie “Bob” Brown and Imogene Brooks Brown. Dwight (or “Brown Bean”, as he was affectionately known to family and childhood friends) attended Union A.M.E. Church in Little Rock where his mother was a lifelong member. As a child, Dwight was inseparable from his doting three older siblings and a lifelong bond was set into place between him and his big brother Bobby (deceased), founder of Black Youth United in Little Rock, and sisters Phyllis, member of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and Minnijean, member of the famed “Little Rock Nine” who helped desegregate Little Rock Central High School. Dwight was a standout athlete playing second base for B & A Pharmacy, a local little league team. He also played football at West Side Junior High. Halfway through his senior year at Little Rock Central, he moved to Carbondale, Illinois where he graduated from Carbondale High School. After graduation, he returned to Little Rock and attended Upward Bound at Philander Smith College. He nurtured his budding interest in filmmaking by attending the Chicago Community Film Workshop and later continued his education at the University of the District of Columbia. Dwight carved out a career in broadcasting beginning with his first job at the ABC affiliate in Little Rock. He was among the first African Americans to break the color barrier in the Little Rock broadcasting industry. He interned at the CBS affiliate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, then moved to Washington, D.C. and landed his dream job at WRC-TV, the local Washington, D.C. station owned and operated by the NBC Network. Dwight was one of a group of African American men and women who were brought on board by Mack McGill, the WRC Chief Engineer and Don Brookfield, who hired engineers.at WRC-TV. Dwight became a staff engineer on various shows produced by WRC and NBC, including the acclaimed political talk show, Meet The Press. He was later promoted to the NBC Network News Department full time, becoming a network sound engineer and covering major news events all over the world. Reaching the pinnacle in broadcasting, Dwight was assigned to cover the White House. His travels with President Ronald Reagan took him to the Bonn (Germany) Economic Summit, the Reykjavik (Iceland) Peace Summit and the Geneva (Switzerland) Summit. He accompanied First Lady Nancy Reagan on her visit to the Vatican where he also visited Lisbon (Portugal). He attended a State Dinner at the Palazzo del Quirinale, the official home of the President of the Republic in Rome (Italy). The trip to the seven-nation Economic Summit in Tokyo (Japan) included stops in Los Angeles, Hawaii and the Indonesian island of Bali. He spent many long hours covering Presidential press conferences, news briefings, vacations in Santa Barbara, CA, retreats at Camp David and countless White House special events. But in 1999, Dwight and his entire family were invited guests of President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton and members of Congress to honor The Little Rock Nine by bestowing Congressional Gold Medals. Friends Bill & Cynthia Bullock introduced Dwight to Rachel Bell of Gary (Indiana). The couple married and started their family with the birth of their first son, Alexander Brooks Brown. In 1989, after much discussion with Rachel, Dwight left NBC and moved his family to Orlando, FL to launch a new career as a free-lance sound engineer. “Brown Sound Service” was an extension of his stellar career as a network sound engineer and exemplified his entrepreneurial spirit, tenacity and work ethic. Many small businesses fail within the first three years. Dwight Brown successfully operated “Brown Sound Service” for over 17 years. Dwight was a founding member of the Central Florida Black Filmmakers Association and worked regularly at Nickelodeon, Universal and Disney Studios. While filming the “New Mickey Mouse Club”, Dwight worked with then young and unknown singing sensations Christine Aguilerra, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake. While in Orlando, Dwight worked extensively with NFL Films and began a noteworthy film career, working with such acclaimed film stars as Wesley Snipes, Eddie Murphy, Damon Wayans, Al Pacino, Bruce Willis, James Garner, Keanu Reeves, Arnold Schwartzeneggar and Gene Hackman. Dwight was also fortunate to work with Russell Williams, the first African American to win two Academy Awards for best sound mixing. The Brown family returned to Maryland in 1995. Three years later, the couple welcomed Aaron Neale Brown, their second son. Dwight continued his stellar career as a sought-after freelance sound engineer in and around the nation’s capitol. Dwight seamlessly blended his hard work with his commitment to his family. He was a great provider, a wonderful father and faithful husband. No matter how busy, he made time to participate in family events, play with his sons, chaperone their school field trips, meet with teachers, and serve on the PTA. He was always available to give wise counsel and encouragement to Alex and Aaron. Dwight Brown loved his sons! In December 2006, after returning home from an assignment for ABC News, Dwight suffered a massive stroke. The next morning at Washington Hospital Center, the family visitation room was overflowing with family, friends and colleagues who rushed to be by his side. Doctors thought Dwight might not survive, but he persevered and remained positive. God answered the many prayers of family and friends and he slowly recovered after a three month intensive care hospitalization. Despite memory deficits resulting from the stroke that lingered the rest of his life, Dwight worked hard to recover through numerous occupational, physical and speech therapy sessions. He completed a driver rehabilitation course and was soon driving all over Silver Spring, MD and working part-time. He served for nearly two years as a Board member for the Montgomery County Stroke Association while Rachel served as President. Dwight remained active and attended many MCSA meetings and special functions, as well as bi-monthly meetings of his Young Stroke Group. Dwight and Rachel also shared some of their post-stroke experiences in the Johns Hopkins Press Health Book, When Your Spouse Has a Stroke by Sara Palmer, Ph.D. and Jeffrey B. Palmer, M.D. It was their hope that their experiences might help other survivors and their caregivers living with the devastating effects of stroke. Dwight was an inspiration to many other stroke survivors and was highly and affectionately regarded within the stroke community. Through it all, Dwight remained graceful despite his numerous health challenges. He played golf, travelled, attended concerts and enjoyed the Men’s Ministry and his church family at Allen Chapel AME Church. He attended Nationals and Orioles baseball games, watched his beloved Redskins every Sunday afternoon during football season and continued to attend Friday night Blake H. S. football games to watch son Alex coach the Bengals. Dwight also walked three blocks to the family’s neighborhood elementary school W. T. Page every school day at 3:00 pm, met Aaron and the two chatted about Aaron’s day as they walked home together. No one can have a testimonial without a test and Dwight Brown passed his many tests with flying colors. His humor was intact, his smile sincere and his laugh was infectious. He embraced life and encouraged others to do the same. He will be greatly missed by Rachel, his wife of 30 years, his two fine sons, Alexander and Aaron, his sisters Phyllis Loye Brown (Little Rock, AR) and Minnijean Brown Trickey (British Columbia, CA), his devoted brother-in-law, Vernon Khaton Bell (Laurel, MD) and his extended family of nieces Fawna, Morningstar, Spirit, Kim, Leila, nephews Isaiah, Sol, Ethan, Michael, and countless cousins, friends and colleagues. Thank you all for helping us celebrate his wonderful life and legacy.