In 2013, at 31-years-old, Aja Brown was the youngest person to be elected mayor of Compton. Her “New Vision for Compton” platform was as much political as it was personal. The single mother that raised her grew up in East Compton and the grandmother who died 10 years before she was born was murdered there. Her own intimate familiarity with Compton’s violence was a motivating influence for her community engagement. In an interview with ABC’s Brian O’Keefe Brown shared, “I was able to see the impact it had on my entire family and especially my mother.” She also shared that her mother taught her to “be committed and to make sacrifices and … put something in front of you, do something bigger than yourself.” Brown’s experience teaches us that the professional is often personal as is the political.

Read the full ABC interview here:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/comptons-mayor-aja-brown-promises-best/story?id=28597609

Image Credit: ABC