Black History: Aja Brown

                                              Aja Brown

In June of 2013 history was made when Compton, California elected their youngest mayor.   At age 31, Aja Brown took her seat as Compton’s new mayor by a landslide victory. Her platform, entitled “New Vision for Compton”, captured Aja’s youthfulness and fresh notions, which gave citizens hope and belief in the rejuvenation of their city.

Aja’s commenced her political career with attaining a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Public Policy, Urban Planning and Development at the University of Southern Florida; and has then held various vital political roles within her community including: Planning Commissioner for the City of Pasadena, Redevelopment Project Manager of Compton, just to name a few.

Today, at age 33, Mayor Brown is still working on revamping and rebranding the streets of Compton. The young visionary has directed her mayoral efforts towards ceasing the presence of gang activity on the streets of Compton. Through her program, Compton Empowered, Brown has lowered Compton’s homicidal rate by 50%.  She has also tackled the unemployment rate increase by initiating the First Source Hiring Agreement, which mandates a 35% employment increase within the city of Compton.

Mayor Brown still has much to do, but her current changes has instilled hope in the city’s future.

Written by: Racqui