The We District

Kwame + The We District 

At-Large Councilmember Kwame Brown is a genuine citizen-representative. From his residence in the Hillcrest area of Southeast Washington, to the energetic streets of Georgetown and the Anacostia Waterfront, Kwame legislates from the perspective of a lifelong neighbor and community veteran. First elected in 2004, Kwame upset a long-term incumbent by knocking on doors across the city and listening to his fellow residents about the issues they face everyday. 

Now, in his second term as an At-Large Councilmember, Kwame’s vision for the District is being realized; he has appropriated hundreds of millions of dollars to provide small businesses funding and opportunities to thrive, renovated shuttered schools into leading, innovative educational institutions, and revitalized neighborhoods in an effort to create vibrant, family friendly communities that can grow and prosper. 

Kwame was born and raised in the District, and believes that every resident deserves the opportunity, support and encouragement to participate in and enjoy all that our nation’s capital has to offer. 

The We District is the connection between all of the District’s residents – from neighbors to nurses, classmates to co-workers, security guards to salon owners – there are common threads that make us all part of this unique and vibrant city. Surging with energy from one diverse corner of the District to the next, the city is the collective treasure we share and the responsibility we bear. 

Kwame is committed to improving education and job training in the District. 

While a student at Woodrow Wilson High School, he participated in the Mayor’s Youth Leadership Program and recognized the many opportunities that a solid education could provide. Kwame continued to vigorously pursue higher education, putting himself through Morgan State and earning a B.A. in Marketing, as well as finishing two Business Executive Programs – at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and the Senior Executives in Government Program at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. A solid education has been the foundation of Kwame’s success and is an essential part of his vision of the District’s future. 

He considers one of his greatest achievements to be the resuscitation of the ravaged Phelps High School, a vocational school he attended, which has become the only public architecture, construction and engineering public high school in the country. 

“The reopening of Phelps Career High School, championed by Brown, has been cheered by construction companies as a much-needed return to publicly supported training in the skilled trades.” – Washington Business Journal, January 2, 2009 

Kwame believes economic prosperity is the cornerstone of a thriving community. 

In 2007, he set his sights on creating real change in the District by becoming the Chair of the Committee on Economic Development. With experience from his leadership as the CEO of the Maryland/DC Minority Supplier Council and his appointment as Senior Advisor to the U.S. Department of Commerce in the Clinton administration, Kwame brings a unique 360-degree perspective on the combined concerns of the private, public and nonprofit sectors that crisscross the District’s landscape. Knowing that economic stability is the foundation for social progress, Kwame has passed laws making investment in local businesses a priority, fueling further financial growth and improving the welfare and safety of the District’s communities. 

In his brief time on the Council, Kwame has quickly become recognized as a national economic leader and was listed as one of the top ten people to watch by the Washington Business Journal. 

Kwame is now the Chair of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments after serving as Vice-Chair in 2009.  Kwame and 2009 Chair Penelope Gross, spearheaded the Workforce Competitiveness Taskforce to align regional resources and create new economic growth. Kwame plans to continue his drive for economic prosperity during his tenure as chair. 

Kwame knows healthy and happy individuals build strong, safe and lasting communities. 

Intensely committed to his family – Marcia, his wife of 16 years and a former public school teacher, and their children, Lauren and Kwame II – the Brown family characterizes the potential that Kwame believes is vital to the District’s success: making education a priority, investing in local business to propel job creation, and pioneering community-building projects that renew and safeguard the city. Kwame is committed to building a city where residents become community members and families can feel at home. “My hope is to shift the way the District’s residents see themselves – from simply a me, to a member of a larger community – a part of the WE District.”