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| Alma Brown, widow of Commerce Secretary Ron Brown, dies at 76 | Alma Brown, widow of Commerce Secretary Ron Brown, dies at 76 |
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| Alma Brown, a bank executive who was the widow of Commerce Secretary and Democratic Party potentate Ronald H. Brown and the mother of former D.C. Council member Michael A. Brown, died April 3 at a hospital in Washington. She was 76. | Alma Brown, a bank executive who was the widow of Commerce Secretary and Democratic Party potentate Ronald H. Brown and the mother of former D.C. Council member Michael A. Brown, died April 3 at a hospital in Washington. She was 76. |
| The cause was pulmonary hypertension, said Flo McAfee, a family friend. | The cause was pulmonary hypertension, said Flo McAfee, a family friend. |
| Mrs. Brown’s death came 20 years to the day after Ron Brown, a Cabinet officer under President Bill Clinton, was killed when a military plane ferrying him and a group of American business executives slammed into a mountainside in Croatia. He was 54 and was on a trade mission to that Balkan country. Thirty-five people died in the crash, which was ruled an accident stemming from factors including pilot miscalculation. | Mrs. Brown’s death came 20 years to the day after Ron Brown, a Cabinet officer under President Bill Clinton, was killed when a military plane ferrying him and a group of American business executives slammed into a mountainside in Croatia. He was 54 and was on a trade mission to that Balkan country. Thirty-five people died in the crash, which was ruled an accident stemming from factors including pilot miscalculation. |
| Before being named commerce secretary in 1993, Ron Brown was a top official with the National Urban League and one of the first black partners of the lobbying firm that became Patton Boggs, where he drew scrutiny for lobbying on behalf of unsavory clients such as the Duvalier regime in Haiti. | Before being named commerce secretary in 1993, Ron Brown was a top official with the National Urban League and one of the first black partners of the lobbying firm that became Patton Boggs, where he drew scrutiny for lobbying on behalf of unsavory clients such as the Duvalier regime in Haiti. |
| A skilled and charismatic organizer and political fund-raiser — he was described by The Washington Post as a “consummate operator” — he became in 1989 the first black chairman of the Democratic National Committee and a leading figure in Clinton’s rise to the presidency in 1992. | A skilled and charismatic organizer and political fund-raiser — he was described by The Washington Post as a “consummate operator” — he became in 1989 the first black chairman of the Democratic National Committee and a leading figure in Clinton’s rise to the presidency in 1992. |
| The Browns formed a power couple at the nexus of Washington’s political, business and civic life. Alma Brown had served over the years as a senior vice president of Chevy Chase Bank, board vice chairman of the National Urban League, and public affairs director of a District-area radio station, WKYS-FM, where her husband once had a small interest. She had leadership roles in black social organizations such as the Links and Jack and Jill. | The Browns formed a power couple at the nexus of Washington’s political, business and civic life. Alma Brown had served over the years as a senior vice president of Chevy Chase Bank, board vice chairman of the National Urban League, and public affairs director of a District-area radio station, WKYS-FM, where her husband once had a small interest. She had leadership roles in black social organizations such as the Links and Jack and Jill. |
| She was described as a steely champion of her husband’s career and an ardent defender of Clinton. | She was described as a steely champion of her husband’s career and an ardent defender of Clinton. |
| Her husband, she once told The Washington Post, called her the Clintons’ “defense minister” for her phoning into talk radio shows, often under an alias, to defend the president — before and after his election — against attacks on his character and policies. | Her husband, she once told The Washington Post, called her the Clintons’ “defense minister” for her phoning into talk radio shows, often under an alias, to defend the president — before and after his election — against attacks on his character and policies. |
| “I’d be in my car driving, and I’d hear something outlandish. I’d go boop, boop, boop,” she said, mimicking the sounds of her car phone. “I’m Jackie from Beltsville,” she would say, and proceed to lay into a previous caller. | “I’d be in my car driving, and I’d hear something outlandish. I’d go boop, boop, boop,” she said, mimicking the sounds of her car phone. “I’m Jackie from Beltsville,” she would say, and proceed to lay into a previous caller. |
| After her husband’s death, she help start a short-lived foundation in his honor. Her son, Michael, later became embroiled in legal trouble connected to his tenure on the city council from 2008 to 2012. | After her husband’s death, she help start a short-lived foundation in his honor. Her son, Michael, later became embroiled in legal trouble connected to his tenure on the city council from 2008 to 2012. |
| He pleaded guilty in 2013 to accepting $55,000 in bribes from undercover FBI agents posing as businessmen trying to win city contracts and is serving a 39-month sentence at a federal prison camp in Alabama. | He pleaded guilty in 2013 to accepting $55,000 in bribes from undercover FBI agents posing as businessmen trying to win city contracts and is serving a 39-month sentence at a federal prison camp in Alabama. |
| Alma Virginia Arrington was born in Brooklyn on Feb. 14, 1940. She was a 1961 graduate of Fisk University, a historically black university in Nashville, and in 1974 received a master’s degree in teaching from Manhattanville College in Purchase, N.Y. | Alma Virginia Arrington was born in Brooklyn on Feb. 14, 1940. She was a 1961 graduate of Fisk University, a historically black university in Nashville, and in 1974 received a master’s degree in teaching from Manhattanville College in Purchase, N.Y. |
| She married Ron Brown in 1962, and the couple settled in Washington in 1973 for his National Urban League job. Two years later, Mrs. Brown became a program specialist for the National Black Child Development Institute, a nonprofit advocacy organization. | She married Ron Brown in 1962, and the couple settled in Washington in 1973 for his National Urban League job. Two years later, Mrs. Brown became a program specialist for the National Black Child Development Institute, a nonprofit advocacy organization. |
| She later was a program director with the National Council of Negro Women and briefly worked for the D.C. government’s office of international business before moving to WKYS-FM in 1989. | She later was a program director with the National Council of Negro Women and briefly worked for the D.C. government’s office of international business before moving to WKYS-FM in 1989. |
| Six years later she joined Chevy Chase Bank, where she helped lead community initiatives such as collecting winter coats to distribute to the poor. At the bank, she also co-led — with Black Entertainment Television founder Robert L. Johnson — a venture to sell financial services to African Americans under the BET moniker. She retired from the bank in 2010. | |
| “Alma devoted her life to her family and doing good,” Bill and Hillary Clinton said in a statement. “She and Ron were quite a team, and after his tragic death . . . Alma redoubled her efforts on behalf of children, college students and underserved communities.” | “Alma devoted her life to her family and doing good,” Bill and Hillary Clinton said in a statement. “She and Ron were quite a team, and after his tragic death . . . Alma redoubled her efforts on behalf of children, college students and underserved communities.” |
| Besides her son, survivors include a daughter, Tracey Brown James of Manhattan, and four grandchildren. | Besides her son, survivors include a daughter, Tracey Brown James of Manhattan, and four grandchildren. |
| Read more Washington Post obituaries | Read more Washington Post obituaries |