PASCO, Wash. — Irving Brown Sr. has spent much of his adult life talking about civil rights, representation and bringing communities together.
Sometimes he does it in English.
And sometimes he does it in Spanish.
Brown, president of the NAACP Tri-Cities WA Branch 1135-B, grew up in Newark, New Jersey, but says his appreciation for Hispanic culture and the Spanish language developed over years of friendships, work and community involvement.
Today, he can comfortably hold a conversation in Spanish — something he believes matters in a city like Pasco, where Latino families are a fundamental part of the community.
“In a community like Pasco, where there’s an incredible Latino community, it’s always been a great tool to communicate, break bread and help the community collaborate,” Brown said.
For Brown, language is about far more than vocabulary. It is about relationships.
That philosophy has become increasingly visible during his tenure at the NAACP, where Brown has worked to build partnerships not only within the Black community, but across racial, cultural, political and organizational lines.
Brown’s connection with the Hispanic community also predates his NAACP presidency. His community involvement over the years has included organizations such as Consejo Latino, LULAC and the Washington State Commission on Hispanic Affairs. A 2023 profile described Brown as a longtime human-resources professional who developed his Spanish through firsthand workplace experience and had become a highly functional communicator in both English and Spanish. (Tumbleweird)
That ability to move between communities may be particularly important in the Tri-Cities, where conversations about opportunity, education, housing, voting rights and economic advancement often cross racial and cultural boundaries.
Brown believes those communities have more in common than they sometimes realize.
His message is essentially simple: progress happens faster when people know one another, communicate and work together.
It is a philosophy Brown has carried through a varied public-service career.
A Pasco resident since 2008, Brown has spent more than 15 years working in human resources and has held leadership roles in community organizations throughout the region. In 2022, he became the first Black person appointed to the Pasco City Council in 15 years. He has also played a major role in the Tri-Cities Juneteenth celebration and continues to serve as director of the Tri-Cities Juneteenth Committee. (Tri-City Herald)
But some of Brown’s most consequential work has come during the past three years.
Following the dissolution of the former Pasco NAACP chapter, Brown led the establishment of the regional NAACP Tri-Cities WA Branch in November 2023, with an expanded mission to represent the broader Tri-Cities community. The organization began without a permanent office, operating remotely while rebuilding membership, partnerships, advocacy efforts and organizational infrastructure.
The broader history of the NAACP in the Tri-Cities reaches back much further — to 1948 — but Brown’s tenure has represented a rebuilding and regional expansion of that presence. (Tri-City Herald)
Since 2023, the organization has grown substantially
Under Brown’s leadership, the branch developed multi-year support from the Inatai Foundation aimed at strengthening organizational infrastructure, leadership development, advocacy and community engagement. In 2026, Inatai expanded that relationship with additional targeted support for voter and civic engagement, including voter registration, education, election protection and get-out-the-vote efforts.
The organization also secured support from The Share Fund for racial and gender justice, the 3 Rivers Community Foundation and the City of Pasco.
Perhaps the most visible symbol of that growth came in 2025.
After decades without a permanent local NAACP home, the branch opened an office at 707 W. Margaret Street in Pasco. Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson participated in the celebration, and Brown described the new location as a place where residents could find advocacy, community and connection. (Tri-City Herald)
The accomplishment represented a dramatic transformation from the remote organization Brown began helping rebuild less than two years earlier. The branch’s own record describes the office as providing a visible place where residents can raise concerns, learn about membership, participate in civil-rights activities and connect directly with leadership.
Brown has also made the future of Pasco’s Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center one of his signature issues.
When community members raised concerns about the scope of the city’s renovation plans and the level of public involvement, Brown pushed the issue publicly while also establishing an ongoing working relationship with Pasco officials.
Rather than ending the effort after speaking at City Council meetings, Brown began participating in regular meetings with city representatives to review progress, funding and future phases of the MLK Center project. Phase I was completed in February 2026, but Brown has continued advocating for investment in the remaining phases.
It reflects a style Brown has increasingly embraced: protest when necessary, but also stay at the table long enough to help produce a result.
The same philosophy extends to young people.
The branch has expanded its focus on mentoring and youth leadership, including initiatives such as MAD Mondays — Make A Difference Mondays — designed to introduce young people to service, leadership and civic involvement.
When the permanent office opened, the branch also was moving forward with a youth division aimed at connecting teens and young adults with educational opportunities, careers and mentors. (Tri-City Herald)
And Brown has remained deeply involved with Juneteenth.
The Tri-Cities celebration dates to 1977 and is described by Visit Tri-Cities as Washington state’s longest-running Juneteenth celebration program. What began as a community picnic has developed into a multi-day celebration incorporating service, education, entertainment, a parade, festival and scholarship activities. Brown serves as the committee’s director. (Visit Tri-Cities)
Now Brown is asking NAACP members for the opportunity to continue the work.
He is seeking another term as president during the organization’s 2026 election cycle.
NAACP branch elections are held in even-numbered years. Under the national organization’s bylaws, branches establish their election schedule during the process that begins in August, create a nominating committee in September, present nominations in October and conduct their election in November. Officers are elected to two-year terms beginning Jan. 1 of the following odd-numbered year. The specific November election date for the Tri-Cities branch was not posted on the chapter website as of Sept. 14. (NAACP)
Brown is running on a record that includes a permanent NAACP office, new philanthropic partnerships, expanded voter engagement, youth development, advocacy surrounding the MLK Center and a broader regional identity for the organization.
But he also says leadership cannot simply be measured by buildings, grants or events.
The goal is to create something sustainable.
The branch’s accomplishments report describes Brown’s approach as building an organization capable of surviving beyond any single president — through membership, financial sustainability, partnerships, civic involvement, youth leadership and institutional credibility.
That also means building bridges with communities that do not necessarily look the same.
The NAACP Tri-Cities website now includes a Spanish-language version of its message, inviting Spanish-speaking residents to participate in its civil-rights and community work. (NAACP Tri Cities, WA)
For Brown, that outreach comes naturally.
A Black civil-rights leader from New Jersey speaking Spanish in predominantly Latino Pasco might seem unexpected to someone meeting him for the first time.
Brown sees it differently.
Sit down together. Talk. Share a meal. Learn about one another.
Then start working on the problems everyone shares.
In one of Washington’s most diverse communities, Brown believes that may be one of the most powerful forms of advocacy there is.
