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George's Impact
"At the height of antagonism toward Japanese Americans, after Pearl Harbor, George Brown stood up against the terminations of public employees of Japanese ancestry and the forced relocation to U.S. internment camps of families like mine. He also fought for gay people's equality. In one of the bravest votes of his career, he rejected the discriminatory law that denied recognition to same-sex couples and undermined the constitution, called the Defense of Marriage Act. He was an outspoken believer and lifelong fighter for civil rights."
George Takei, actor, activist, and volunteer in George Brown’s 1970 campaign for U.S. Senate
"Community planning and environmental protection had a champion in George Brown. He possessed a great deal of wisdom and seriousness. An engineer at heart, he could focus on problems and bring together multiple sides of an issue to achieve rare agreement. So much of what we've been able to do on transportation and habitat planning in the Inland Empire stems from his leadership."
Tom Mullen, former Supervisor, Riverside County
"Examples of real courage in elected officials are rare. Even rarer is someone who sustains courage across years, not backing down and taking ingenious action to advance and preserve freedom. George Brown stood for honest leadership and stood out, in a category by himself. I am proud to stand up for him in the drive to preserve and open his archives."
Ed Asner, the late actor and former SAG president
"George Brown always made certain that science maintained a human face. He never lost sight of the capacity for science to improve the quality of our lives and advance fairness and justice at home and throughout the world."
Bill Richardson, former New Mexico Governor, Energy Secretary, and Brown colleague in Congress
"George Brown did everything he could to remove barriers for people who lacked advantages: low-income families, students of color, single women and single-parent mothers, people with disabilities. He worked hard to get the military service academies to admit women and people of color. His office and committees he led were a pipeline into public service for diverse talent with leadership potential. He commanded respect because he continually set a powerful example."
Lois Carson, the late former Director, Community Action Partnership of Riverside County; former President, National Community Action Partnership; former National Vice President, National Council of Negro Women
"George Brown loved the Inland Empire. We disagreed on many issues, but we always worked together to help our constituents build thriving communities. From the UCR Salinity Lab to the Seven Oaks Dam to roads that turned Ontario into a modern airport, we were partners for 20 years in making San Bernardino and Riverside Counties a better place. George was a great friend, and one of the all-time best advocates for our area."
Jerry Lewis, the late former U.S. Representative (R-Calif.)
"George Brown understood and honored the diversity of people in the world and in his district. He grew up in the Inland Empire community of Holtville in a family of modest means and understood the struggles of working families. He encouraged and inspired the best kind of public leadership: listening to the needs and aspirations of diverse constituents and fighting to deliver improvements for their lives."
Wilmer Amina Carter, former Assemblymember 62nd District, California
"George Brown’s support for science was drawn from his deep belief that science and technology could help achieve a peaceful world and a just society. For almost forty years, from his earliest days fighting racial inequality, George Brown challenged us to build a better world."
Bill Clinton, former President
"He worked hard, with curiosity and integrity, and brought people together. He accomplished so much because he listened closely and could make people laugh. He set a very high standard in leadership."
Gloria Macias Harrison, Trustee, San Bernardino Community College District Board; former President Crafton Hills College, in Yucaipa
"I am so fortunate to have worked for Congressman George E. Brown, Jr. I have never known a more brilliant yet humble man."
Beverly Goodly Powell, former educator and George Brown aide and retired public affairs manager in the Inland Region
"I knew George Brown as a colleague in Congress and as a force for democracy, civil rights, and peace on a national and international scale. His archives are an important resource for the world. We need evidence of how science and conscience can guide a life in public service and shed light in dark places. I urge everyone to join me in supporting this important effort to share the lessons of his powerful leadership that built ramps of opportunity and brought down walls of repression."
Tony Coelho, former Congressman and coauthor of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
"I’m conscious of carrying on the values of George Brown. My children are too. He respected working people. He fought for full equality, for women, people of color, gay people, tribes, religious minorities, and immigrants. He set an example by standing up for America’s best ideals."
Foxie Brown, granddaughter of George Brown
"Literally hundreds of staff, from all backgrounds and walks of life, came through his office. He gave us permission to soar and succeed. His legacy is one of the richest in all of public service."
Cheryl Mendonsa, Brown aide and news producer, who while on staff helped orchestrate broadcasts of the Emmy-award-winning ABC series "Capital to Capital" linking Russian and American political leaders in live, on-air debate
"Our nation’s many rapid advancements in science and technology are due in large part to the vision and leadership he provided our country."
Al Gore, former Vice President
"The George Brown archives are more than the lasting record of a brilliant leader. They are the origin story of innovations ranging from solar and wind energy, space and satellite technology, global mapping and navigation strategies, and the electric car. They show the creation of movements for energy independence, clean transportation, organic agriculture, and open governance. These archives reveal his early recognition of technologies that, only now, are still emerging. Access to these archives will inspire and enable Americans to confront and make, not avoid and delay, the critical decisions on education, the environment, and the economy that will guide us to a brighter future."
Rad Byerly, the late former chief of staff of the House Science Committee, former American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) fellow, and commissioner of the Colorado Air Quality Commission
"This was a man who was true to his convictions; a man who treated others with respect and dignity; a man who was a good and unselfish public leader."
Ken Calvert, U.S. Representative (R-Calif.)
"While George was so knowledgeable about outer space, he was equally as knowledgeable about inner space, the human heart and the human soul. He understood what it meant to be part of a global community. He equally understood what it meant to be part of a local community and a family."
Rabbi Hillel Cohn, San Bernardino