Sylvester Brown, Jr., founder of a nonprofit, freelance writer and former award-winning Metro columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, was born and raised in St. Louis. Prior to his position with the Post, Brown, 56, published Take Five Magazine, an investigative regional publication, for 15 years. The publication received more than 30 awards for its investigative series, general reporting and Sylvester’s political and social commentaries.
In December 2004, Sylvester’s essay “Either Way, it’s Missouri,” was featured in the photo/essay book “Missouri 24/7” published by DK Books. Sylvester won the 2005 Terry Hughes Writing Award from the St. Louis Newspaper Guild and the 2007 and 2008 (“Best Column”) award from the St. Louis Association of Black Journalist.
After leaving the Post-Dispatch in 2009, Sylvester worked with SmileyBooks in New York and the Resolution Project, a Chicago-based nonprofit. Sylvester served as a researcher and consultant with the agency’s founder, Tom Burrell, for the book, Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority, written by Burrell and published by SmileyBooks. Sylvester collaborated with Burrell and Dr. Ronald E. Hall Michigan State University Social Work Professor and author of “The color complex” on the “Are You Brainwashed?” online quiz. He was also a researcher and contributor to “Too Important to Fail” the e-book that accompanied Tavis Smiley’s September 2011 PBS special report of the same name and “The Rich & the Rest of Us,” written by Tavis Smiley and Dr. Cornel West and published in 2012.
In January 2011, Sylvester founded “When We Dream Together Inc. (WWDT),” to promote a comprehensive vision of revitalized; self-sustaining urban communities and to provide the resources necessary to empower ordinary people to implement the vision.
In the summer of 2012, WWDT Inc., and the North Area Community Development Corporation partnered to enact Sylvester’s “Sweet Potato Project,” a summer program aimed at teaching at-risk youth “do-for-self” entrepreneurial skills. The youth planted sweet potatoes and were charged with turning the produce into a marketable product. For 8 weeks they were exposed to lessons on entrepreneurism, web site design, leadership, public speaking, marketing, advertising, food distribution and more.
Sylvester has been a guest on the Fox network’s the “O’Reilly Factor,” Tavis Smiley’s syndicated radio program and on Al Frankan and Dr. Michael E. Dyson’s radio shows. Brown was also featured in a July 2005 segment of ABC’s “Nightline” focusing on a community forum he organized featuring comedian and philanthropist Dr. Bill Cosby.
Sylvester lives in St. Louis and is the father of four children and the grandfather of two.
