The first of his family to ever go to college, and the first African-American Director of Recreation and Parks for the City of Lake Charles, Percy Brown has had a long and purposeful career here in Southwest Louisiana. A conversation about his history and his career quickly leaves one both intrigued and inspired.
Born in 1942, one of five children in the household, Percy attended Brownsville Elementary on Ruth Street in the small neighborhood of “Brownsville”, close to the corner of modern-day 18th and Lake Streets. The small community of Brownsville was indeed named after Percy’s family and was not located within the city limits of Lake Charles in 1942. Also at that time, the City of Lake Charles and Calcasieu Parish had two different school systems. Segregation was in full effect during the vast majority of Percy’s education. Brownsville Elementary School was for African-American students and two African-American teachers would teach approximately one hundred to one hundred and fifty students each semester. The one room school house was divided down the middle by sliding doors, separating first through fourth grade on one side and fifth through eighth grade on the other. The space was cramped, materials for students were certainly not the best, and the student to teacher ratio presented even more challenges. Though faced with all of these obstacles, young Percy had a drive to invest heavily in his educational career.
Early on, Percy’s family instilled the great importance of education upon him. This came not only from the family, but from the neighborhood as well. Living in the same neighborhood as Percy, the elderly neighbors would interrogate Percy and his mother if he ever missed a day of school, making sure the absence was legitimate. Though Brown v. Board of Education was in 1954, it was not until the late 60’s that integration occurred in Calcasieu Parish. By this time, there had been a merger of the City and Parish school systems. Percy attended Washington High School and graduated in 1961. Speaking of those early days at Washington High School, Percy remembered, “when it was first developed, there was no football field and the school went from grades one through 12. And our team had to play at other Parish schools. They practiced on dirt playing surfaces.”
Discussing segregation in Lake Charles during the 1950’s and early 1960’s, Percy remembered, “at the store called, “The Fair”, there was the white water fountain and the colored water fountain. There was the white men’s and women’s bathroom, but there was only one colored men’s and women’s bathroom for both to share.” Commenting on businesses, he recollects, “you had a Woolworth’s. That was the only place where there was a counter. We didn’t worry about frequenting that place. You had the Paramount and the Arcade movie houses. We couldn’t go to the Paramount. We couldn’t go to the Lyric. Then you had the Pitt. African-Americans could go to the Arcade, but you had to go upstairs. Whites were downstairs.” According to Percy, Woolworth’s did allow African-Americans to enter, but you could not sit down at the counter to eat.
After Washington High School, Percy attended Southern University in Baton Rouge. While some African-Americans did attend McNeese in the early 60’s, according to Brown, at that time, it was not always a welcoming environment. “The majority of us went to Southern or Grambling. That’s the only two choices you had. You couldn’t venture off to Texas too much because you had to pay out of state fees which made it extremely high,” he recalled. He graduated Southern with a B.S. in Biology. It was here at Southern where Percy met his wife, Elaine. They would marry on August 30, 1969. Elaine would go on to become the first African-American librarian at Barbe High School.
After Southern, he began his teaching career in Slidell, LA, teaching there for three years before beginning a nine year stint at Grant Avenue School in DeQuincy. This was in the midst of Calcasieu’s school integration. “This was ‘68/ ‘69. I was the only black teacher.” The DeQuincy teaching job brought Percy home to family and friends and represented some of his most enjoyable years. “A testament to the positive changes on McNeese’s campus and Mr. Brown’s continued desire and personal drive to further his education, Percy received his M.Ed. in Administration and Supervision from McNeese in 1977. This would be the same year Percy went to teach at LaGrange High School. He eventually became Assistant Principal and retired in 2000.
After his retirement from the Calcasieu Parish School System, Percy spent several months working for the Sheriff’s Department in the Juvenile Division. Percy’s first introduction to the City of Lake Charles’ Recreation and Parks Department came in 1970 when he worked as a referee and umpire. Officiating was a large part of Percy’s career as he spent over 30 years officiating high school and college games. In fact, Percy was the first African-American Commissioner/Assignment Secretary of Southwest Louisiana covering schools from 5 parishes. He retired from officiating in 2009. He had a keen understanding and appreciation of parks and recreation from his own participation in sports as a youngster and throughout college. Randy Roach entered the Mayor’s Office in 2000 and found himself in need of a Director of Recreation and Parks. Percy Brown applied for the job and became the first African-American to hold this directorship for the City of Lake Charles. Mr. Brown has fostered growth and success at Recreation and Parks throughout the years, improving the conditions of many of our parks and improving the access to sports for many of our youth throughout the City. He is still employed as Director of Community Services to this day. He has two daughters, both of whom have achieved success in their own rite.
Commenting about the younger generation today who may not understand the history of segregation and the civil rights movement, Percy states “as a teacher and as an administrator, these were the things that you would use to try to counsel a kid when they came to your office. You would always try to impart the significance of history to current day events.”
Both co-workers and City Administration have great admiration for what Mr. Brown has achieved in his life. He has faced and overcome obstacles that others might have considered too much to surmount. His positive nature and demeanor make him an uplifting and inspiring teammate. This City owes a debt of gratitude to him and is a better place because of him. For these reasons and many others, Percy Brown is truly a Lake Charles Local Black History Hero.