Daughters Of Oscar Brown, Jr. Keep His Legacy Alive

Africa Brown and Maggie Brown in front of Oscar Brown Jr. banner at the American Writers Museum_Credit Lynne Renee Photograph.
Africa Brown and Maggie Brown in front of Oscar Brown Jr. banner at the American Writers Museum_Credit Lynne Renee Photograph.

Daughters Of Oscar Brown, Jr. Keep His Legacy Alive

By Tia Carol Jones

Oscar Brown, Jr. was a poet, a playwright, a songwriter, an activist and a truth teller.  His discography includes “Sin & Soul,” “Between Heaven & Hell,” “In a New Mood” and “Oscar Brown, Jr., Tell it Like it Is.” He mounted the musical “Opportunity Please Knock” in 1967 and In De Beginnin’” in 1977. Oct. 10, 2026 would have been his 100th birthday. His daughters Africa and Maggie Brown are celebrating his contributions to the culture and sharing his work with the world, starting with Chicago.

Africa and Maggie Brown are continuing their father, Oscar Brown Jr.’s legacy through sharing the art he left and the history lessons he taught them to the younger generation. They are keeping his philosophy at the forefront in what they say their father coined, ‘edutainment’. With Boot Black Publishing Company LLC, and Brown House Edutainment, Africa and Maggie Brown are co-managing his work, preserving his work and publishing it, as well as teaching it. The goal is to have people experience Oscar Brown, Jr., the way he intended it.

“As we get to step back and look at this body of work and the legacy that he left us, we know that we have to step forward and take the reins,” Africa Brown said.

Maggie Brown said that too many times when there are conversations about pioneering artists, her father’s name is left out. She said their father’s legacy lives through her and Africa, who she said are “avenging the derailing of his contributions.” She said her father was doing spoken word and rhyming over a jazz beat in the late 1950s, early 1960s. She said that once their father’s legacy is uncovered, people will see the gems that he was known for. She described their father as a thinking man who observed life and the African American condition as the human condition.

“The way he could tap into his beautiful God given talent was to appreciate it; by him paying attention, he was able to create these things and express himself,” Maggie Brown said. She added that growing up, she heard stories about how her grandfather and other ancestors came from Mississippi and helped to empower Black people in Chicago. She said being exposed to the movements of her father and her other ancestors, she and her sister feel compelled to carry it on.

Africa Brown said that Bronzeville and Hyde Park shaped Oscar Brown, Jr. She said the city is in his writing and in his humor. She said he gave Chicago a cultural voice that still resonates today. Maggie said that celebrating Oscar Brown, Jr.’s 100th is a way to introduce to some and re-introduce to others his work. His book of poetry, “What It Is,” is being re-released and is available for purchase. Brown, Jr.’s banner is at the American Writers Museum in the Chicago gallery and a reading of his work, “In De Beginnin’” took place on Feb. 25th there.

Africa and Maggie Brown want to share their father’s message of Human Improvement Potential (HIP). It was something they grew up with, starting with music in the living room at breakfast and rehearsals in the kitchen. It is something that lives in them. Africa said that their father challenged systems and uplifted the community, and it called people to be better.

On Oct. 10th, Africa and Maggie Brown will host a concert and celebration at the Logan Center for the Arts at the University of Chicago. There will also be an exhibit at the Blanc Gallery in the Fall. For more information about Oscar Brown, Jr., visit www.oscarbrownjr.org.

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