By Chauncey Bailey

Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown received a Community Leadership Award this week from the Thurgood Marshall College Fund during its eighth annual banquet that paid tribute to outstanding leaders.
   “I’m honored to receive this award because it carries the name Thurgood Marshall,” said Brown, who praised the fund for impacting the lives of many black students seeking higher education.
    Marshall was the nation’s first African American U.S. Supreme Court justice. He was also the lawyer for the NAACP when the civil rights organization filed the landmark case in 1954 that struck down separate but equal schools.
    Brown, who used to shine shoes in Texas before moving to the Bay Area, went on to complete law school and be elected to the State Assembly. He became speaker and one of the most powerful politicians in the nation. He was later elected mayor of San Francisco, and since his retirement, he has remained active in civic and political affairs.
    “Willie Brown is an example that politics can work for the people,” said David Scott, who was among the attendees of the gala held at the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco.
   “The Community Leadership Award recognizes leaders nationwide who exemplify professional and civic excellence and individuals who share Justice Marshall’s concern for civil rights and his passion for justice,” said a statement from the fund.
   “To get an award that carries Thurgood Marshall’s name is near the top of achievement for me in my career,” said Brown. “Thurgood Marshall was such an awesome figure in American History and in the world of African American’s quest for freedom and justice. I am absolutely delighted to add to my many achievements the fact that someone thought in memory of Thurgood Marshall an award would be given to me. I am absolutely delighted.”

    Other Community Leadership awardees were: Bess Stephens, vice president of corporate philanthropy and education at HP; Nathan and Julie Hare, founders of the Black Think Tank; Jesse Arnelle; and Paul Garrison, director of legal regulatory affairs at the California State Automobile Association.
    “I believe that the recipients of the Community Leadership Award are wonderful role models for the Thurgood Marshall College Fund’s merit scholars,” said Dwayne Ashley, president and CEO of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund organization. “I hope that businesses and communities across the country will join these very deserving honorees in their efforts to continue to unite people of all races and backgrounds to ensure that education and opportunity are available for everyone.”
    The Thurgood Marshall College Fund Inc., named for the late U.S. Supreme Court associate justice, was established in 1987 and represents 47 public historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) located in 22 states with a population of well over 232,000 students.
    Over the last 20 years, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund has awarded more than $60 million in scholarships and programmatic and capacity support, enabling more than 6,000 students to attend public HBCUs.