In 2016, Madison365 recognized Percy Brown, Jr. as one of the most influential African- Americans in the state of Wisconsin. Madison365 describes Percy as “one of the great leaders to arise from the south side of Madison.” In 2014 and 2015 respectively, Percy was awarded the Educator of the Year award by the 100 Black Men chapter of Madison, WI. and was the recipient of the Urban League of Greater Madison President’s Rising Star award. Percy Brown, Jr. comes from a family of civil rights activists that fought for equal rights in the Jim Crow south during the 1950’s and 60’s in Bolivar County, Mississippi. His grandfather, Morgan Brown, Jr., was an educator for over 50 years and led most civil rights efforts in Bolivar County. Percy’s father, uncles and aunts were part of the first wave of blacks to desegregate white schools with his aunt Ella being the first of two blacks to integrate Rosedale High School. Percy’s family activism is part of his lineage that he carries into his work as an educational leader. Percy is currently the Director of Equity and Student Achievement for the Middleton Cross Plains Area School District, Senior Outreach Specialist for the Wisconsin Center for Education Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an adjunct instructor for Edgewood College in the school of education.