Making history as the youngest person to ever hold the position of mayor in the city of Compton, California, 31-year-old Aja Brown is working hard to serve her community and have a meaningful impact on those around her.
According to Brown, her mother and grandmother played a major role in teaching her and her siblings the importance of giving back. In an interview with theGrio Brown says, “my mom and grandmother were leaders and raised me to be a leader.”
Having faced the violence and poverty in Compton firsthand, Mayor Brown is familiar with what it means to live in that type of environment. Her grandmother was raped and killed in her Compton home when Brown was younger. That violent act forced her family to relocate to Pasadena, but Brown and her husband decided to move back to Compton over five years ago.
Mayor Brown’s administration is focused on cultivating young leaders, ending gang violence and working on issues with families. Aware that she has her work cut out for her, this young major seems determined to make a difference in a city that needs it.