Common(s) Questions with Michael Brown
We’re proud to spotlight one of our very own, Michael Brown, Civic Architect here at Civic Commons.
As the creator of Civic Commons, Michael is passionate about uniting community voices and public-private sectors to solve the problems of racial and economic equity in the Greater Seattle region.
Before the launch of Civic Commons, Michael led the transformation of grant-making strategies as Seattle Foundation’s Vice President of Community Programs.
Committed to mission, he continues to serve the region as the driving force behind Civic Commons, in partnership with the Seattle Foundation to provide leadership, vision, and to support the overall work of the team.
Without further ado, let’s dive in and get to know more about Michael Brown.
Q: What did you want to be when you grew up?
A: I wanted to be a doctor. That was my aspiration. The whole thought of helping folks through medicine was appealing. When I started Undergrad I was actually a pre-med major, then my first year I shifted and decided to become a political science major; the rest is history.
Q: WHAT gets you excited about your job?
A: Why I get excited for this work is I think about my kid always as the rationale for the things that I do. My kid, based on his environment, will have access to opportunity and all the things every kid should have, but not every kid does —and if all I did was think about just my kid and not every other kid then I would be violating some values that I have.
For me and through the work of Civic Commons, I want to create an environment that supports my kid, but I want to create an environment that supports every kid, every family, and every household so that opportunity is there.
Q: What would a Seattle that works for everyone look like?
A: There's a feeling that people have belief. They have belief that things are moving in an equitable fashion. That we as a region are demonstrating the ability to truly solve the region's issues.
That we are or have narrowed the racial inequities that we see and just as important is that we have fostered a true sense of connection to each other, a sense of belonging, that we are one region with shared destiny.
Q: WHAT IS ONE THING PEOPLE MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT YOU?
A: People wouldn't know that I actually have a soft spot. That I can get a little teary-eyed when I'm moved by something. I think most people see a very friendly, jovial, but serious individual, but there is a soft spot that I do have.
Q: WHAT DOES BLACK HISTORY MONTH MEAN TO YOU?
A: It takes me to two different places. It takes me to past generations and the foundations that our elders have provided for us and the stories that haven't been told about that—we have family history.
Our elders had to navigate some really challenging things to even get our generation to be here so I give thanks to not only those more recognizable leaders within Black History, but also to my elders, who, if not for them I would not be here.
Then the turn is as a Black man the responsibility I have to the next generation which I'm honored to serve as a mentor, resource, and contact for any young Black person. Whether they come into the field or they're going into another field, it's that belief of passing something off, but also giving them what I got—that mentorship and support—allowing them to grow.
When I think about Black History […]I have a lot of gratitude for the past and the present, and a lot of hope and optimism for the future.
Q: IF YOU COULD GRAB COFFEE WITH ANY SEATTLEITE(S), PAST OR PRESENT, WHO WOULD IT BE? WHY?
A: Bernie Whitebear, Larry Gossett, Roberto Maestas, and Bob Santos back in the 70s. They were leading some transformative efforts during a very challenging political time.
They perfected the art of community organizing, but collectively, that it wasn't just the Black community, the Asian American community, the Native community, or the Latino community. They were in it together.
To have that chat with them about that concept—and how do you maintain it? How do you sustain it? How do you avoid the challenge of divide and conquer? Oppression loves nothing more than to divide and conquer or the scarcity mindset that we only have limited resources and getting partitioned off.
But more importantly, bringing the community truly in and bridging in a different way. They bridged it with more strong activist methods.
Where I think [as it relates to] today, is how could we learn from some of that in a more politically astute strategy-driven approach to still get to the same outcome.