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Brower passed away on
January 8, 2003. Born in 1920 in Johnstown, PA, Louise
Johnson earned a bachelor’s degree in math education from
West Chester Teachers College and began her career as a
teacher in a one-room school in Cambridge, MD.
After one year, she
returned to the Philadelphia area to teach. There she met
William Brower, a reporter. They married in 1947 and moved
to Toledo when William became a reporter for The Blade
becoming one of the first African Americans to work as a
reporter at a major daily newspaper. Louise joined the
teaching staff at Robinson Junior High School.
William, who died in 2004,
was a trailblazing journalist at The Blade, earning numerous
awards and honors, including a nomination in 1951 for a
Pulitzer Prize for his series “Fifteen Million Americans”
about the living conditions of African Americans in a
segregated nation.
In 1996, William won the
National Association of Black Journalists’ Lifetime
Achievement Award.
Louise, said her son
William, Jr, a writer and consultant in the Washington, D.C.
area, believed in instilling a “sky’s the limit” philosophy.
“She was the ultimate
mother and was devoted to me and my father,” said William,
Jr. “She was also devoted to the young people she taught and
helped as well. She was taskmaster, but it was always with a
purpose. She wanted to maximize my potential and she wanted
to maximize the potential of the children she taught.”
In addition to her
professional duties, Louise Brower was an active participant
in community activities. She was a member of The Toledo
Chapter of Girlfriends, Inc, The Links, Inc (she served as a
president of that group), The Study Hour Club, Phi Delta
Kappa, Coterie Club, National Association of Negro Business
and Professional Women’s Clubs, Inc, Toledo Planned
Parenthood, among others.
While the official name
change for the Performing Arts Theater occurred in 2003, “we
discovered some of the [Toledo Public Schools]
administrators were unaware of the renaming of the Little
Theater since an official ceremony never occurred,” said
Links member Laneta Goings
The Dedication Ceremony
will take place on Monday, October 20 at 4:30 p.m. at Scott
High School. |
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