People of Courage: Paulette Brown

Abstract

Paulette Brown, an attorney and former judge, is the first African American woman and first woman of color to head the American Bar Association. Brown was born on April 28, 1951 in Baltimore, Maryland to Wilbur Brown, a truck driver, and Thelma Brown. In 1969, she graduated from Northwestern High School and attended Howard University in Washington, D.C. In 1973, she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science and, in 1976, earned her law degree at the Seton Hall University School of Law.