Reverend Dr. Amos C. Brown

Civil rights activist Reverend Dr. Amos C. Brown was born on February 20, 1941 in Jackson, Mississippi to Louella Bell Robinson Brown and Charles Daniel Brown. He earned his A.B. degree in sociology from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia in 1964, his MDiv degree from Crozer Theological Seminary in Upland, Pennsylvania in 1968, and his Th.D. degree from the United Theological Seminary in Trotwood, Ohio in 1990.

Brown organized the NAACP Youth Council in Jackson, Mississippi in 1955. As the national chairman of the youth and college division of the NAACP in 1959, he also participated in the Freedom Rides of 1961 and worked as a youth field secretary for the NAACP in the South from 1962 to 1964. Following his graduation from Morehouse, Brown attended Operation Crossroads Africa in Senegal, Sierra Leone and Liberia. He also served as a pastor of Saint Paul’s Baptist Church in West Chester, Pennsylvania from 1966 to 1970 before joining Pilgrim Baptist Church in Saint Paul, Minnesota until 1976. Brown was the NAACP branch president in both West Chester and St. Paul during his tenure. Brown was hired by Third Baptist Church in San Francisco, California, where he remained until his retirement in 2025. He served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from 1996 to 2001 and became the president of the San Francisco NAACP.

Brown has received numerous awards and honors including the Martin Luther King, Jr. Ministerial Award in 1984. He was also named San Francisco Business and Professional Women Inc. “Man of the Year” in 1985. He was the recipient of the National Newspaper Publishers Association’s Torch Award in 2018 and the Willie B. Kennedy Civic Service Award from the Northern California Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Foundation in 2025. He was inducted into the California-Hawaii NAACP Hall of Fame in 2024 and the International Hall of Fame at the King International Chapel at Morehouse College.

Brown served as president of the Minnesota State Baptist Convention, USA from 1971 to 1974. He also served as national chairman of the National Baptist Commission on Civil Rights and Human Services; chairman of the Bay Area Ecumenical Pastors Conference; chairman of the Midwestern American Baptist Black Churchmen; and vice president of the governing board of San Francisco Community College. He went on to serve as a member of the NAACP national board; California Reparations Task Force; San Francisco African American Reparations Advisory Committee; governing board of the National Council of Churches of Christ; San Francisco Ministerial Alliance; San Francisco Religious Council; and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.

Brown and his wife, Jane, reside in San Francisco, California. They have three children: Kizzie, Amos Jr., and David.

Reverend Dr. Amos C. Brown was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on January 6, 2024 and June 13, 2025.