Author Robert Brown uses a soft-spoken tone and steady pace as he reads the prologue of his memoir, both of which narrator Dominic Hoffman picks up on and delivers throughout the bulk of this audiobook. The love of his grandmother, his faith, and his moral code shaped Brown’s life, and these shine through as he chronicles his ascent from poverty in the Jim Crow South to a life of achievement as head of a Fortune 500 company and adviser to the Nixon White House and Civil Rights movements at home and abroad. With a nuanced and understated delivery, Hoffman captures the humility and quiet confidence of this unsung hero who eschewed the limelight while working with Dr. King, Bobby Kennedy, and the Mandelas. Hoffman's straightforward presentation and subtle use of emphasis animate an inspiring memoir that offers listeners a unique perspective on a pivotal chapter in our nation's history. M.O.B. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
You Can't Go Wrong Doing Right: How a Child of Poverty Rose to the White House and Helped Change the World
Narrated by Dominic Hoffman, Robert J. Brown
Robert J. BrownUnabridged — 8 hours, 32 minutes
You Can't Go Wrong Doing Right: How a Child of Poverty Rose to the White House and Helped Change the World
Narrated by Dominic Hoffman, Robert J. Brown
Robert J. BrownUnabridged — 8 hours, 32 minutes
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Overview
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Called "a world-class power broker" by the Washington Post, Robert Brown has been a sought-after counselor for an impressive array of the famous and powerful, including every American president since John F. Kennedy. But as a child born into poverty in the 1930s, Robert was raised by his grandmother to think differently about success. For example, "The best way to influence others is to be helpful," she told him. And, "You can't go wrong by doing right."
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Fueled by these lessons on humble, principled service, Brown went on to play a pivotal, mostly unseen role alongside the great and the powerful of our time: trailing the mob in 1950s Harlem with a young Robert F. Kennedy; helping the white corporate leadership at Woolworth integrate their lunch counters; channeling money from American businesses to the Civil Rights movement; accompanying Coretta Scott King, at her request, to Memphis the day after her husband had been shot; advising Richard Nixon on how to support black entrepreneurship; becoming the only person allowed to visit Nelson Mandela in Pollsmoor prison in Cape Town.
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Full of unbelievable moments and reminders that the path to influence runs through a life of generosity, YOU CAN'T GO WRONG DOING RIGHT blends a heartwarming, historically fascinating account with memorable lessons that will speak to the dreamer in all of us.
Editorial Reviews
11/05/2018
Working from historical records and personal reminiscence, Brown recounts his improbable career as a political “superhero flying to the rescue” in this uplifting rags-to-riches memoir. An insightful and honest guide to the racial difficulties his generation faced, Brown traces the trajectory of an illustrious career in an elegantly structured narrative bookended with an account of a 1988 incident in South Africa. The main text opens with the author’s childhood and early years as a police officer in North Carolina in the late 1950s. An appointment by the Federal Bureau of Narcotics moved him and his young bride to New York City, where he met Martin Luther King Jr. The next two sections cover Brown’s role in the civil rights movement and his time as a special assistant to the president during Nixon’s first term. Though a registered Democrat, Brown embraced the opportunity to become the “first black man named to the new administration.” With Nixon’s support, he more than doubled federal funding for black universities, identified black military leaders for promotion, promoted integration for public schools in the South, and, as luck would have it, got out before Watergate. This pleasant and introspective memoir will inspire readers to be of service. Agent: Jan Miller, Dupree Miller. (Jan.)
In the pages of You Can’t Go Wrong Doing Right, Robert Brown takes us on a journey through history and time to experience the challenges and triumphs that left an indelible mark on his life and the remarkable lessons learned along the way. His praying grandmother instilled in him the values that prepared him for an exhilarating life she could’ve never imagined. You will laugh, cry and be inspired as you relive the stories told through his first-hand account.”
-T.D. Jakes, bestselling author of Soar! and Destiny
“A memoir from one of the most understated yet pivotal players in the history of American civil rights . . . A humble and timely book that speaks to an era of sweeping change and a reminder that faith and love are two of the best weapons to counter hatred.”
-Kirkus Reviews
“Bob Brown is a civil rights icon and a legend in American history. His story is inspiring and crosses all political aisles. I will always be grateful for his friendship and advisement. I admire his selfless commitment for the betterment of this world.”
-Alphonso Jackson, Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development under President George W. Bush
“You can't go wrong by reading this first-person account of how the wisdom of a slave's daughter transformed our world through the leadership of her grandson, Robert J. Brown. You Can't Go Wrong Doing Right, Robert shares his amazing experience of serving alongside leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and President Richard Nixon to advance civil rights in United States and globally.”
-David L. Steward, founder and chairman of World Wide Technology and Kingdom Capital, author of Doing Business by the Good Book
“Brown reminds us that there really are only three things that ultimately matter in life: relationships, experiences, and memories. And he is a builder of all three.”
-Bonnie McElveen-Hunter, former chairman of the American Red Cross
“Bob Brown is a hero, model, and mentor to millions around the world. His life story is a testimony to the extraordinary influence and impact of a leader who commits all his resources to helping others. This book will touch your heart, inspire your soul, and nourish your mind. It’s a treasure “
-Nido R. Qubein, president of High Point University
Author Robert Brown uses a soft-spoken tone and steady pace as he reads the prologue of his memoir, both of which narrator Dominic Hoffman picks up on and delivers throughout the bulk of this audiobook. The love of his grandmother, his faith, and his moral code shaped Brown’s life, and these shine through as he chronicles his ascent from poverty in the Jim Crow South to a life of achievement as head of a Fortune 500 company and adviser to the Nixon White House and Civil Rights movements at home and abroad. With a nuanced and understated delivery, Hoffman captures the humility and quiet confidence of this unsung hero who eschewed the limelight while working with Dr. King, Bobby Kennedy, and the Mandelas. Hoffman's straightforward presentation and subtle use of emphasis animate an inspiring memoir that offers listeners a unique perspective on a pivotal chapter in our nation's history. M.O.B. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
2018-12-03
A memoir from one of the most understated yet pivotal players in the history of American civil rights.
While most of his work occurred outside of the spotlight, Brown has left a deep imprint on the history of the African-American struggle for equality. Oft-identified as a close friend of Martin Luther King Jr. and "the only person allowed to visit Nelson Mandela" during his Cape Town imprisonment, the author fleshes out a lifetime studded with important experiences. Growing up in the Jim Crow North Carolina of the 1930s and '40s, Brown endured a hardscrabble childhood under the love and tutelage of his compassionate grandmother "Mama," Miss Nellie Brown. "Whether singing in our church's gospel choir or canning vegetables," writes the author, "she called out Jesus with the best of them and she set our moral compasses with lessons from the Bible." After a stint in local law enforcement, the author landed a job in New York as a federal narcotics agent, launching a series of events that would lead to his meeting with King in 1958 and later executing a staged narcotics buy for the "Senate Rackets Committee's top lawyer," Robert F. Kennedy. With greater ambitions, Brown moved back to his home state and founded the public relations firm B&C International, which become the anchor of his significant role as a race-relations liaison between the black and white communities—business, political, or otherwise. Among his many achievements, the author chronicles his five years working as special assistant to President Richard Nixon, a job in which he developed the pivotal Office of Minority Business Enterprise. Throughout the volume, weaving together the stories of milestones personal and cultural, Brown continually falls back on the echoes of his grandmother, whose wisdom included the mantra, "you can find good anywhere, and you can do good everywhere."
A humble and timely book that speaks to an era of sweeping change and a reminder that faith and love are two of the best weapons to counter hatred.
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940172198120 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Penguin Random House |
| Publication date: | 01/15/2019 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
Read an Excerpt
Chapter 1
You Don’t Have to Be Rich to Give
I grew up with my brother, bill, in my grandparents’ house in High Point, North Carolina. We lived in Burns Hill, one of the poorest of the colored neighborhoods in town. White folks had homes along paved streets. Blacks lived where the pavement ended. Our humble wood-frame bungalow was located at 1309 East Commerce Street, where there was neither commerce nor a street.
The Hill was mostly peaceful in my 1940s boyhood, but it was not a place that inspired much hope. Families were from the working poor. Most scraped by on skimpy earnings, but they took care of each other, sharing what little they had because serving others was how we all survived.
One day when I was not yet ten years old, a man reeking of sour wine and wet garbage walked up to our porch. I was sitting on our house’s wooden front steps, and my “Mama,” my grandmother, was in her chair on the porch. The man stood at the bottom of the steps, unsteady on his feet and red-eyed, but cautious and respectful.
“I ain’t had nothin’ to eat for two days, Miss Nellie,” he said. “I don’t have no money to buy food.”
I stood up, suspicious of the beggar and protective of my grandmother. But Mama had no fear of him.
“Come on in here, boy,” she said to the man.
He climbed the stairs with surprising speed, followed her into the house, and took a seat at the kitchen table. Mama went right to work. She broke off chunks from a huge pan of homemade bread and dished up a bowl of hot beans. The man ate until his belly stopped growling. Then he let fly a roaring belch, stood up from the table, gently placed his bowl in the sink, and said: “I sure do appreciate it, Miss Nellie. The Lord will bless you.”
Mama turned from the sink and sighed. The man had to know he was in for one of her church lectures, but no doubt he’d figured the meal would be worth it.
“Do the right thing, now, and get your life straight,” Mama told him, looking him in the eye. “Go to church on Sunday and your life will change for the better.”
He bowed his head, accepting his penance, and then made his way out the door and down the steps with newfound energy. Mama washed his bowl and returned to her chair on the porch. I took my place on the steps. After a while, I gathered the courage to say what was on my mind.
“Mama, why on earth do you give our food to these people who spend their days and nights drinkin’ and sleepin’ in the street, when you and Daddy and Bill and me work so hard to put it on the table?”
My question must have touched something in her. Mama waved for me to come up and sit in the chair with her. When I’d settled in, she told me a story from the Bible, of the time when Jesus knocked on someone’s door for help, but they turned Him away because He was dressed in rags.
“If I never teach you anything else,” she said, “I want to teach you that one thing—you never know which way the Lord will come to you. He will test you to see if you follow His teachings. So, life is all about giving, sharing, and serving others. If you give whatever you can, the Lord will give you more than you will ever need. He will take you up so high you won’t believe it.”
Mama was wound up. I listened as a life’s worth of lessons poured out of her.
“Son, you don’t have to be rich to give. We aren’t rich, but we had food in the pot today. The Lord provided that food, and he provided it to me so I could share it with others. He gave us enough to share. That’s what you should do with your life, Bobby. Whatever you get, make sure you try to help somebody else with it, because the Lord gives it to you so you can give it to somebody else.”
Miss Nellie Brown was the light that woke me up in the morning and put me to bed at night. I adored her and took her words as gospel to live by. She had so much wisdom, so much compassion. Or, as Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love.”
My grandmother took in my brother and me shortly after we arrived in this world. Our natural birth mother, Gracie Mae Marshall, ran away from home early in her teens, and we were never clear on how she survived during those years. She’d been sixteen when Bill was born, and I arrived two years later, on February 26, 1935. For most of my childhood, Gracie Mae was like an older sister or cousin who rarely came around.
We called our grandparents “Mama” and “Daddy,” throughout our lives. My grandfather, Marcus Lafayette Brown, worked in the boiler room of one of High Point’s many furniture factories. A quiet and humble man by nature, he usually worked late shifts, so he left most of the grandchild-rearing to our grandmother. I felt blessed to have them as my parents, and couldn’t have loved them more.
Before we complicated her life, Mama had worked full-time at the Southern Railway station in High Point. She cleaned the station and called the trains, shouting out arrival and departure times for all to hear. Mama was well known at church and at the railway station for her booming voice. Some claimed they could hear Mama’s train calls five stops up and five stops down the line.
She had the same reach when calling us home from our ball fields, creek explorations, and friends’ homes. You could be six blocks away and underwater and still hear Miss Nellie calling us home to supper.
“Billeeeeeeeeeee! Bobbeeeeee! Time for dinnahhhhhhh, boys!”
We scooted, too. Even the other kids listened to Mama. She had this air of authority that said, There will be no shady business when I’m around.
Mama was an imposing woman. Big-boned and straight-backed, she had a regal bearing, no matter that she wore thrift shop dresses sometimes held together with safety pins. Whether singing in our church’s gospel choir or canning vegetables, she called out Jesus with the best of them, and she set our moral compasses with lessons from the Bible.
The power and clarity of her voice certainly carried me a long way. Whenever my anger threatened to explode, her lessons of faith would come to me and help me redirect the rage toward positive action. I could well have ended up in prison, or worse, if it were not for all the Godly messages my Mama put in my heart as I was growing up.
By most expectations, I wasn’t ever supposed to get off the Hill. In fact, there were times when it looked like I wouldn’t make it past childhood at all. I coughed and wheezed throughout most days, and on two or three occasions, these fits led to pneumonia and weeks of confinement to my bed. Today, I know the coughing came from asthma, but back then, black children who coughed and wheezed weren’t taken to the doctor. We were just considered poor and frail.
I was so skinny and pale, the other kids called me “Light Bread.” The nickname dogged me through elementary school. Since I lacked physical strength, I learned to get along through gentle persuasion and negotiation. The role of peacemaker suited me. If another boy got mad because he didn’t have enough marbles, I’d give him some of mine. I wanted everybody to be happy. When kids couldn’t agree on whether to play baseball or go swimming, they left it up to me to decide. It’s funny how our childhood ways offer previews into our adult lives.
To be truthful, I also had a childhood bodyguard who protected me from bullies as well as snakes and other dangers. My older brother, Bill, was nicknamed the “Brown Bomber” from early childhood. Bill was stump-necked, thick-shouldered, and fast with his fists. Later in his Air Force career, he became the middleweight champ of the Fifth Division. No one messed with Bill.
My brother and I spent at least part of every day in the garden, busting our butts to raise vegetables and fruit. While other kids in our neighborhood were playing stickball or hanging out, we had to hoe, weed, and pick. Mama had a knack for drawing spiritual and life lessons out of everyday experiences, especially gardening. Every spring, we’d go to Hauser’s farm goods and garden store on Wrenn Street to buy seeds and fertilizer for the garden. Mama always made sure we bought two or three pounds of black mustard seed, which came in a brown paper sack.
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