I pulled up at him in a fifteen degree climb and fired three long bursts at him from 2,000 feet at eight oclock to him, Dr. Roscoe C. Brown, Jr. said, recalling an air fight as a Tuskegee Airman against a German jet during World War II. Almost immediately, the pilot bailed out from about 24,000 feet. I saw flames burst from the jet orifices of the enemy aircraft.
That report by Dr. Brown after the encounter is part of military lore, and so now is Dr. Brown who died Saturday night, July 2, at Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx. He was 94.
Two weeks ago he fell and broke his hip, said former Mayor David Dinkins, thats why he was in the hospital. Hes my hero and I always call him my Fighter Pilot.
Dinkins also reflected on Dr. Brown as an educator, particularly during his tenure as President of Bronx Community College and as a professor at New York University. The doctorate he received, unlike mine, was not honorary, Dinkins joked. He earned his. He was a smart rascal.
And a smart Roscoe, too.
Born March 9, 1922 in Washington, D.C., Brown was the younger of two children. His father, Dr. Roscoe C. Brown, Sr., a member of FDRs Black Cabinet, worked as a public health specialist and his mother was a teacher. After graduation from Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, he received his bachelors degree from Springfield College in Massachusetts in 1943.
At a very early age Brown wanted to fly planes after visiting the Smithsonian museum and seeing Charles Lindberghs plane. He was in his twenties when he joined the Air Army Corps and began his illustrious stint as a Tuskegee Airman. There are several historic photos of 1st Lt. Brown seated in the P-51 Mustang adorned with red tails. It was equipped with six .50 caliber M2 machine guns in which he was the first of the Black pilots to shoot down a German jet. Another photo shows him in gear atop a plane discussing strategy with 1st Lt. Marcellus G. Smith and Col. Benjamin O. Davis in Ramitelli, Italy in March 1945.
That photo was taken shortly after Brown, was one of three members of the 332nd Fighter Group, credited with shooting down a Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter. Subsequently, Brown was promoted to captain and squadron commander and later received the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with Eight Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Presidential Unit Citation.
Home from the service, after flying 68 combat missions, Capt. Brown attended New York University, where he earned an M.A. in 1949 and Ph.D. two years later.
With a freshly minted masters degree, he was employed as a social investigator with New York City Department of Welfare. He was an instructor in physical education at West Virginia College until 1948. While working on his doctorate in 1950, he was appointed director of the Institute of Afro-American Affairs and a professor of education at NYU. Dr. Brown would be in this post for the next twenty-seven years.
I was named President of Bronx Community College in 1977, Dr. Brown told the Historymakers website. He would be at the helm of the college until 1993. After leaving the college, he served as director of the Center for Urban Education Policy at the Graduate School and University Center of CUNY.
I used to see him all the time at the Graduate Center, when I worked there, said writer and activist Karen Taylor. He was such a distinguished gentleman and always with a kind word.
Assemblyman Keith Wright said he was stunned when he heard the news. Ive known him for almost all of my life, Wright said in an interview. He was a walking, talking warrior hero. My father was particularly fond of him, and I should say that my father didnt like a lot of people.
I was on his television show several times, Wright continued, referring to Browns CUNY television show, African American Legends. It was like sitting at the feet of one of our African chiefs.
On the show, Dr. Brown hosted hundreds of elected officials, civic leaders, activists, writers, entertainers, educators, and entrepreneurs. The show was a continuation of his work in the weekly series Black Arts, in which won the 1973 Emmy Award for Distinguished Program.
Dr. Brown was an active member of a host of organizations, including the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, the Jackie Robinson Foundation, and Libraries of the Future. He was a founding member of the American College of Sports Medicine, and for many years donned shorts and sneakers as a participant in the various running events in the city. I think he was a member of the Pioneer Track Club and used to jog with my father, Wright recalled. In fact, he completed nine New York City marathons.
He was the recipient of numerous plaques, certificates, citations, and awards from a long list of significant institutions. Among them was the New York City Treasure Centennial Honor from the Museum of the City of New York and the Humanitarian Award from the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
Some of the tributes and honors he received are not attached to parchment and wood, but in the words of people such as Lloyd Williams, the President and CEO of the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce, of which Dr. Brown was a board member. It is ironic that Roscoe, a true American hero, joins the ancestors on the Fourth of July weekend, Williams began. He was as an extraordinary civil rights activist, pilot, and educator. But more than anything he was an extraordinary human being, and a great leader, especially as president of One Hundred Black Men.
Along with his wife, Bernadette, Dr. Brown is survived by his four children, Doris Bunnie Bodine; Diane McDougall; Dr. Dennis Brown; and Donald Brown, Esq., six grandchildren, and four great grandchildren.Dr. Brown is the proud father of 4 children; Doris Bunnie Bodine, Diane McDougall, Dr. Dennis Brown, Donald Brown, Esq.; 6 grandchildren Lisa Bodine, Brandi Neuwirth, Donna Bodine, Harold Masai McDougall, Esq., Mine McDougall, Esq., Tia Brown and 4 great grandchildren; Corey OBrien, Lt. JG USN Christopher OBrien, Maxwell Neuwirth, Zoe Neuwirth.
The family has yet to announce funeral services or memorial arrangements.
