About

Shuqualak, Mississippi. That’s where Charles T. Brown was born and raised. His mother, Debra, imbued her strength and wisdom onto Charles and his four siblings. Where he watched his father, Willie, RIP, struggle with addiction.

He grew up on the other side of the tracks. He knew crossing over would mean facing the critical eye of White folks and local police. While never physically assaulted, he faced bias, discrimination, microaggressions, and attempts at social exclusion. As he grew, he felt interpersonal racism most deeply in the places and communities that were seen to be safer and less discriminatory toward Black people.

“Racism is not merely a simplistic hatred. It is, more often, broad sympathy toward some and broader skepticism toward others. Black America ever lives under that skeptical eye.” Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Charles joined the military in 1998. While serving, he received the Mississippi Commendation Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. After his distinguished service, he attended Belhaven College in Jackson, MS, for his Bachelor’s degree, and then the University of Central Florida for his Master’s in Public Administration and a graduate certificate in urban and regional planning. All the while, he continued to be honored for his academic excellence.

Applying his rigorous academic training, he became a senior researcher with the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers University. He began putting the pieces together around racism in transportation and mobility by publishing several groundbreaking national and local studies, thus beginning his Arrested Mobility journey.

Charles continues to teach. Today, he is an adjunct professor at Rutgers University’s Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. Scholarly research has its place, but he put his work into practice by founding Equitable Cities in 2014.

Now, Equitable Cities becomes Horizon 54. Charles Brown continues to lead the firm and will continue to bring his lived experience to each client and project.