Jim Brown

James Nathaniel Brown "played professional football with the Cleveland Browns from 1957 to 1966. During his illustrious and legendary career, Mr. Brown established many records, including a 9-year career total of 12,312 yards gained. His 5.2 yards per carry average has never been broken. He was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame and is considered by many as the greatest running back in football history. He retired at the peak of his professional football career after winning the NFL Championship and MVP of the League, to become a motion picture actor.

"As a screen actor, Mr. Brown has appeared in over 20 motion pictures, including The Dirty Dozen (1967), El Condor (1970), Slaughter and Black Gunn (1972), Original Gangsta's (1996) and Mars Attacks (1996).

"While playing for the Cleveland Browns, Jim Brown began laying the foundation for the Negro Industrial and Economic Union (NIEU), whose motto was "produce, achieve and prosper." In 1966, he and some of the finest African-American minds in the country formally established the NIEU, which was principally capitalized with a Ford Foundation Grant in excess of $1 million. Over 100 African-American businesses benefited from the Union's capital support and expertise.

"In 1980, Jim Brown set his aspirations toward helping empower the disenfranchised, and became involved with Coor Golden Door and Barriers, both job creation programs for ex-convicts to properly re-introduce them to society's mainstream. Mr. Brown's 6-year association with the Vital Issues Project helped elevate that organization's status nationally and helped thousands of inmates and ex-convicts transition to society.

"In 1988, Jim Brown founded and became President of the Amer-I-Can Program, Inc., today considered a premier prevention and tool in reaching the "hard core" and the at-risk population. Mr. Brown's efforts contributed to the gang truce among warring gang sets during the Los Angeles Uprising.

"Under Jim Brown's leadership, Amer-I-Can operations have expanded to Schools, Adult and Juvenile Correctional Facilities and Communities in California, Oregon, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Nevada, Colorado, Louisiana, Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and Florida. Tens of thousands of correctional inmates, law enforcement officers, students, community residents and others have been trained. Mr. Brown is also the Chairman of the Amer-I-Can Foundation For Social Change, founded in 1993."