Homer S. Brown Biography

Considered the first African American judge in Pittsburgh, Homer Sylvester Brown was an esteemed civil and political rights activist. A graduate of Virginia Union University in Richmond, Virginia, Brown received his law degree in 1923 from the University of Pittsburgh. On October 23, 1923, he became a member of the Allegheny County Bar Association.

Brown passionately served the Pittsburgh community for over 50 years. His many accomplishments included chairing the Friendly Service Committee, which successfully reduced crime in the Hill District during the Great Depression; election to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1934; investigation of the Pittsburgh’s Board of Education’s refusal to hire black teachers, an investigation that ultimately paved the way for an overhaul of the Board’s hiring practices; passage of several bills that resulted in the “Pittsburgh Package” and created the Housing Authority; and authoring a bill in 1945 that would prohibit discrimination in employment in Pennsylvania – a bill that would earn him the famous title, “Father of the State Fair Employment Practices Act.”

In addition to being voted the most able member of the House by the Capital News Correspondents’ Association in 1943, Brown was also considered by many in the Western Pennsylvania region as a father of “firsts.” He was the founder and first president of the Pittsburgh branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Persons (NAACP), a position he served for 24 years. In 1943, he became the first African American appointed to the Pittsburgh Board of Education. Further, Brown became the first African American to hold the position of Allegheny County Judge in 1949. Brown was elected to the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas in 1956 and remained until 1975, when poor health required his retirement.

As judge, Brown was responsible for groundbreaking rulings, including his 1968 ruling that a City of Pittsburgh tax on hospitals, known as the “sick tax,” was declared unconstitutional. He also ruled in 1973 that it was not unconstitutional to offer prayers at graduation ceremonies. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld both decisions.

Brown’s tireless efforts to improve the lives of others in the Pittsburgh community included not only his work in the legal and political arenas, but through other organizations, as well. Brown's various accomplishments and memberships included serving as Chair of the Board of Directors of the YMCA. He also served as a member of the White House Commission on Education, and as a member of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Homer S. Brown Takes Oath as County Court Judge

Homer S. Brown, a well-known member of the Allegheny County bar and a veteran Pennsylvania legislator, took the oath of office as Judge of the County Court of Allegheny County, at 10 o’clock on a Tuesday morning. That morning, the courtroom was crowded to capacity with lawyers, civic leaders and other friends of the new jurist.

On the bench, were President Judge Benjamin Lencher, and judges Lois Mary McBride, L. Kenneth Harkins, Blair F. Gunther, and Francis J. O’Connor, of County Court; President Judge Harry H. Rowand and judges William H. McNaugher, John P. Egan, Thomas M. Marshall, Michael A. Musmanno, A. Marshall Thompson, Henry Ellenbogen, James L. O’Toole, Jr., Sara M. Soffel, Walter P. Smart, Samuel A. Weiss. Russell H. Adams, Henry X. O’Brien, and Harry M. Montgomery of Common Pleas Court; and President Judge Hugh C. Boyle and Judge T. F. Ryan of Orphans Court; and Judge Gustav L. Schramm of Juvenile Court.

Lencher opened the ceremony by recognizing Richard F. Jones, who had been Brown’s law partner for 26 years. Jones began his remarks by saying “May it please the court. I have the unique and in one respect unprecedented honor to present to you the Commission of the Honorable Homer S. Brown as Judge of this Court. Mr. Brown and I were classmates in the University of Pittsburgh Law School where a strong and enduring friendship developed between us. Upon admission to the Bar in 1923, we opened an office and have practiced law together in Allegheny County for the past 26 years. Endowed as he is not only with a fine legal mind, but with exceptional forensic talents, he soon distinguished himself both in the Courts and in public life.”

“In 1934 the people of the First Legislative District of Allegheny County nominated him as the candidate of both major parties and sent him as one of their representatives to the General Assembly of Pennsylvania; and continued to return him there for seven more consecutive terms so that it was necessary for him to resign that office in order to accept this one. I need not recount to your honors the remarkable career of Mr. Brown in the House of Representatives for it is well known to the people of Pennsylvania. Let us recall, however, that at the conclusion of two of the sessions of the General Assembly the newspapermen who observed him daily in the performance of his duties, they voted him to be the ablest man in the House of Representatives, which, I may suggest is no small tribute coming from such an unbiased and critical source.”

“He was regarded as the leading authority in the, House of Representatives on constitutional law and he once served as the Chairman of the Judiciary General Committee of that body. Mr. Brown’s interest and activity in civic betterment brought him recognition and honor. He once served as vice president of the National Council of the Young Men’s Christian Association of North America. He is now a member of the Board of Public Education of the City of Pittsburgh, a member of the Board of Directors of the Community Chest of Allegheny County and a member of the Advisory Committee of the United States Second Army Command at Pittsburgh.”

“This must be a shining hour for Mr. Brown, for his loyal wife who stood at his side in all of his efforts, for his brilliant son who bids fair to follow in his footsteps, and indeed for all of his family and all of his friends, many of whom are gathered here to witness these proceedings. This is indeed a great moment. It is not merely a moment of personal reward and triumph, nor of victorious rejoicing of party and friends. It is in a large sense a great moment for all the people of Allegheny County; for in the elevation of this, the first man of his race so honored, to the bench in our county, democracy has won a great moral victory. At a time when. false prophets are denouncing the United States as a nation where opportunity for advancement does not exist for all of its citizens, the people of this county have flung into their teeth a lesson in democracy which will not be lost on them and which should not be lost on us, because Mr. Brown was selected for and elected to the bench of this court by people of all races, all creeds and all national origins, who admired and respected him, and who were happy to place him in a larger vineyard where he can and will continue to work for the best interest of all the people.”

“By the court’s permission I will ask another valued friend of Mr. Brown and fellow member of our bar, Mr. Paul F. Jones to read his Commission. I now move the court to administer to Mr. Brown the oath of his office so that he may immediately begin to serve the term of his office as Judge of this Court.”

The court then recognized Paul F. Jones, who read the commission. Honorable Benjamin Lencher administered the oath of office to the new jurist.

Seated in the courtroom were the Judge’s wife, Wilhelmina Byrd Brown; his son, Byrd Brown, a third-year student at Yale University; and his brother and his wife, Dr. and Mrs. W. Roderick Brown.