From The April Brown 4 Ward 9 Campaign – The Coalition hopes to interview Miss Brown in the coming weeks …..
In a neighborhood park where she shattered her ankle from an improperly attached swing at age 10, Providence City Council candidate April Brown officially kicked off her bid late last week for the Ward 9 seat.
More than 30 people old and young, of multiple races and sexual orientations came out to Miguel Luna Memorial Park on Sackett Street Thursday July 7, 2022 to show their support for Brown, including Providence City Councilwoman Rachel Miller, Connecticut General Assembly Representatives Anne Hughes and Robyn Porter, local leaders of color and business owners.
“I just want the people who represent Ward 9 to give a damn about the people of Ward 9,” Brown said. “… I have been working in this community as a minister, educator, artist and activist. If there was a way that I could serve, I did and I will continue to – this time as your City Councilwoman!”
Ward 9 consists of the Elmwood and South Elmwood neighborhoods. Brown’s family can trace their origins to this area back 13 generations. She cares for and lives with her mother, 80-year-old Grace Brown, a founding member of Direct Action for Rights and Equality (D.A.R.E.) who has vowed to never leave Ward 9, in their longtime family home on Niagara Street.
April Brown credits her family for her work ethic and commitment to serve this community well with compassion, commitment and all her professional and lived experience.
April Brown is the Interim Director of the Racial & Environmental Justice Committee in Providence and co-director of the annual Langston Hughes Community Poetry Readings. Brown’s experience also includes being an ordained minister and former teacher, education administrator, artist programmer and college counselor. More specifically here in Rhode Island, she has worked with the State for its drinking water quality initiative; with Rhode Island Black Storytellers and the National Association of Black Storytellers as the African Marketplace director; and with Turnaround Arts: Providence as its local program director.
She is a published poet, acclaimed singer and actress who has performed in the United States, Japan and Israel. Brown holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree from The American University, in Washington, DC, and a Master’s in Education from the University of Rhode Island.
In addition, she has served as a board member of Community Music Works and is a member of the Special Committee for Commemorative Works for Providence and other boards throughout the State.
“We are living in a time where our rights are being erased daily,” said Brown, the only female candidate for this race. “It is the reason why now, more than any other time, we all need to vote. And vote for leaders who understand, care and share your thoughts. Vote for those who have proven they are more than just talk and can get results for all of us.
I am that kind of leader.”
Her priorities include an in-depth view about environmental justice that includes not only clean and lead-free water but also real school investments and policing that puts community needs first; critical quality of life matters such as illegal dumping, park cleanups, trash pickups, drainage issues and replacing ancient municipal lead pipes; job equity, housing stability and more community engagement. Read more about these issues and her vision at: www.aprilforward9.com
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