Honoring a hero lost
Photos by Margaret Britton
Commissioner Larry Johnson and Keisha Peake, who organized the petition drive to change Glasgow Drive to Derwin Brown Drive, share a laugh before the ceremony on June 22.
Formerly Glasgow Drive, the Brown's old street is now Derwin Brown Drive.
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Dozens of residents turned out to celebrate the life and service of sheriff-elect Derwin Brown and his wife Phyllis at a street-naming ceremony on June 22.
Brown was gunned down in the driveway of his home on Glasgow Drive on Dec. 15, 2000, just a month after he was elected sheriff.
Members of the Brown family and the community gathered to dedicate Glasgow Drive as Derwin Brown Drive.
Led by resident Keisha Peake, who held a petition drive to change the street name, the community shared stories and remembered the Browns as a classy, caring couple who were engaged and involved in their neighborhoods.
Former sheriff Sidney Dorsey, who Brown defeated in the 2000 election, was later convicted of ordering the hit on Brown and is serving life in prison. Two of Dorsey’s henchmen were also convicted in the shooting and spend the rest of their lives behind bars.
Brown’s wife Phyllis, who was editor of The Champion from 1992 to 2000, suffered a stroke in 2003. Phyllis died in December 2006.
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