Cheryl Brown's Biography
Assemblymember Cheryl R. Brown was elected to the California State Legislature on November 6, 2012 to represent California's 47th Assembly District. The 47th Assembly District is located in the heart of San Bernardino County and includes Colton, Fontana, Grand Terrace, Rialto, San Bernardino, and the unincorporated communities of Bloomington and Muscoy.
Prior to election to the legislature, Assemblymember Brown served on the San Bernardino County and City Planning Commissions for 17 years. Her achievements include authoring the first mining ordinance in San Bernardino County and directed Auto Club Speedway through the environmental review process. During her tenure as a commissioner, she was elected president of the California County Planning Commissioners Association.
As an active community member, Brown has worked with such groups as the Inland Empire Urban League, National Council of Negro Women (NCNW), Kiwanis, Arrowhead United Way, YWCA, San Gorgonio Girl Scout Council and her church, the San Bernardino St. Paul A.M.E. where she serves as a trustee. Prior to being elected she served as the president of the San Bernardino County NAACP. Assemblymember Brown also spearheads local events including: Take a Cop to Lunch, Bill Pickett Rodeo, and the Underground Railroad Field Study Program.
In addition to decades of public service, Assemblymember Brown has been a small business owner for over thirty years. In 1980, she and her husband, Hardy Brown Sr., founded Brown Publishing Company to circulate a community newspaper called the Black Voice News. The newspaper is published weekly and focuses on local news in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. The Browns were recognized as the only living publishers to be included in the 175th anniversary of the Black Press of America.
Assemblymember Brown's experience as a journalist includes serving as a television talk-show host for 12 years on local access television, KCSB Channel 3, and appearing as a guest on Burden of Proof, MSNBC, the Brian Williams Show and Channel 11 Fox News.
Their successes led them to create California Black Media (CBM) in 2001. CBM is a network of 22 African-American newspapers and media enterprises across the state of California. The organization has served as a statewide initiative to better inform, educate, and advocate for the African American community, as well as help promote minority-owned news organizations.
In and out of elected office, Assemblymember Brown has always been a champion of family owned small businesses. The pride and community benefits of owning a small business was instilled in by her father, Marvin a veteran of WWII, who started a tax preparation business in Southern California over sixty years ago. Today that business is run by her older brother. Following her father’s lead, the Black Voice is now owned by the Brown’s daughter, Dr. Paulette Brown-Hines.
Assemblymember Brown and her husband, Hardy Sr. have been married for 52 years and raised four children in San Bernardino. Lynn, Paulette, Hardy Jr., and Regina have blessed their parents with nine grandchildren.