KNOXVILLE, TN — The Knox County Democratic Party is proud to announce the appointment of Sam Brown as the new Acting Vice-Chair of the party.
Appointed by Chair Matt Shears, Sam will serve as acting Vice-Chair until the next County Assembly meeting in November when his position will be voted on by the entire leadership of KCDP. Brown plans to serve through the remainder of the current leadership term which expires in March.
The vacancy was created when former Chair LaKenya Middlebrook stepped down to serve as director of PARC for the city of Knoxville and her vice-chair, Matt Shears, became chair of the party.
A native of Rockford, TN, The Reverend Sam Brown completed his secondary education in Knox County Public Schools graduating from Austin-East Performing Arts & Sciences Magnet High School. Brown is also a proud alumnus of Livingston College where he studied political science and religion.
Brown also has a certificate in campaign management & fundraising from the Howard Baker School for Public Policy at the University of Tennessee. In 2004, Brown answered the call to preach at Mt. Pleasant AME Zion Church in Rockford and currently serves as Pastor of the historic Logan Temple AME Zion Church in Knoxville.
Professionally, Brown has a love for politics and public relations. Brown has been a staffer for the United States Congress in both houses, working in transportation and press relations. In March of 2019, Brown was elected as District One Chair of the Knox County Democratic Party.
In further service to his denomination, Brown has, since 2012, been the associate editor of The Star of Zion, the official organ of the AME Zion Church.
In December of 2018, Brown was elected International Chairperson of Young Adult Christian Ministries for the AME Zion Church. Brown represents his denomination as a member of the Pan-Methodist Commission and Churches Uniting in Christ (CUIC).
Brown is an active member of the Knoxville NAACP, Knoxville Interdenominational Christian Ministerial Alliance (KICKMA) where we serve as Secretary, Knoxville Opera Concert Choir, Knoxville Area Urban League Young Professionals, where he serves as Treasurer and Chair of Fund Development, and a member of the Board of Directors for the Shora Foundation Inc.
At the 2020 2nd Congressional District Democratic Convention, Brown served as an elector for Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. During the 2020 campaign cycle, Brown ran as a Democrat for Tennessee Senate District 6.
“Sam’s experience as a dedicated community servant, campaign staffer, candidate, and party activist makes him the perfect person to help lead KCDP,” Chair Matt Shears said, “We have a great team at KCDP and I am very excited to have Sam help steer the ship. Democrats are on the move in Knox County with record-breaking fundraising, volunteer activity, vote shares, polling, and more. Sam Brown will continue to help build synergy across the entire Democratic party apparatus in this county.
KCDP must continue this momentum to secure progressive change for the future,” Sam Brown said, “Put your vote where your mouth is. Put your vote where your heart is. Put your vote where your hurt is. Put your vote where your futures is.”
