Will Brown Reporter email

Will Brown is a Report for America corps member focusing on race, poverty and inequality for Jacksonville Today.

He previously reported for the Jacksonville Business Journal. And before that, he spent more than a decade as a sports reporter at The St. Augustine Record, Victoria (Texas) Advocate and the Tallahassee Democrat.

Over his 15-year career, Brown has won awards for breaking news, social media and photography. And in 2020, he contributed photographs for WFSU News/Health News Florida’s national Murrow Award-winning series “Committed: How and Why Children Became the Fastest Growing Group Under Florida’s Baker Act.”

Brown has an undergraduate degree from Florida A&M University and a master’s from the University of South Florida. In his spare time, he enjoys reading and soccer. He lives in Clay County with his wife and son.

Featured image for “Black historical society creates Freedom School to close knowledge gaps in Jacksonville”
Christina McNair will serve as one of the educators for the James Weldon Johnson ASALH chapter's Freedom School. McNair is a retired science teacher and educator who has lived in Jacksonville for nearly 50 years. | Will Brown, Jacaksonville Today
September 6, 2024

Black historical society creates Freedom School to close knowledge gaps in Jacksonville

Freedom School is designed to help school-aged children, and their families, learn about Black history.…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “NUMBER OF THE WEEK | Jacksonville Jaguars fun facts”
Josh Hines-Allen (41) and Roy Robertson Harris (95) lead the Jaguars onto the field during a Monday Night Football game on Monday, Dec. 4, 2024. The Jaguars lost in overtime to the Cincinnati Bengals. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
September 6, 2024

NUMBER OF THE WEEK | Jacksonville Jaguars fun facts

Add up all of Trevor Lawrence’s passing yards and you get roughly the distance from EverBank Stadium to the jaguar…

By Megan Mallicoat and Will Brown

Featured image for “Eastside Debs Store reopens with credit union and career center”
September 3, 2024

Eastside Debs Store reopens with credit union and career center

Joe Debs leaned against the counter on Tuesday between a pair of registers and the memories returned. A smile did…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “New lawsuits and a scholarship: Families reflect one year after Dollar General shooting”
Brother Quan Laguerre and grandmothers Cheryl Joachin and Eva Mobley hold the posthumous associate's degree awarded to AJ Laguerre Jr. on Aug. 26, 2024, the one-year anniversary of his death. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
August 26, 2024

New lawsuits and a scholarship: Families reflect one year after Dollar General shooting

Three families grieved differently on Monday – the first anniversary of the shooting rampage that targeted Black people at a…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “Soil collection ceremony marks 1-year anniversary of Dollar General shooting”
A soil collection ceremony was held in Grand Park on Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024, to remember Angela Carr, AJ Laguerre, Jerrald Gallion on the one-year anniversary of their deaths. A white supremacist killed the trio near a Dollar General on Aug. 26, 2023. The Jacksonville Community Remembrance Project says one jar will be presented to the families of the victims, while another will head to the Equal Justice Initiative’s National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Ala. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
August 25, 2024

Soil collection ceremony marks 1-year anniversary of Dollar General shooting

More than 300 people gathered to remember AJ Laguerre, Angela Carr and Jerrald Gallion with a soil collection ceremony.…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “High school football kicks off Friday in Northeast Florida”
St. Augustine scored three second-half touchdowns to pull away from Palatka on Friday, Nov. 4, 2022. The Yellow Jackets' 42-10 victory gave them a 57-43-4 advantage in Northeast Florida's oldest high school football rivalry. (Photo by Will Brown)
August 22, 2024

High school football kicks off Friday in Northeast Florida

Here’s the local high school football schedule for the season-opening week across the Jacksonville area.…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “Nixon trounces Priestly Jackson in House District 13”
Former Jacksonville City Council member Brenda Priestly Jackson challenged state Rep. Angie Nixon. D-Jacksonville, in the Democratic primary. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
August 20, 2024

Nixon trounces Priestly Jackson in House District 13

With most of the vote counted, state Rep. Angie Nixon amassed more than 80% over Brenda Priestly Jackson in the…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “Patients wait as Baptist Health and Florida Blue battle over costs”
Baptist Health and Florida Blue are Northeast Florida's largest health care system and health insurance provider. The two have served Jacksonville for a combined 149 years. | Florida Blue; Baptist Health
August 19, 2024

Patients wait as Baptist Health and Florida Blue battle over costs

If the two do not come to an agreement, as many as 50,000 people will be forced to find new…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “Black voter turnout courted ahead of pivotal election”
LaTeisha Reynolds snaps a selfie with Sharon Rashad, back left, and Lucretia McBride before early voting inside the Schell-Sweet Community Resource Wellness Center on the campus of Edward Waters University in Jacksonville's New Town community. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
August 8, 2024

Black voter turnout courted ahead of pivotal election

Duval County has the highest percentage of Black voters in the state, but the question is how many melanated souls…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “Republicans look to shore up support among Black conservatives in Jacksonville”
Former Florida Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll addressed the Duval County Coalition of Black Republicans on Thursday, July 25, 2024 in Jacksonville's San Jose community. Her remarks focused on faith, family and freedom ahead of the 2024 presidential election. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
July 26, 2024

Republicans look to shore up support among Black conservatives in Jacksonville

A Black woman may be leading the presidential ticket of a major political party for the first time, but for…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “Highway 17 North Heritage Trail celebrates local icons”
A. Philip Randolph, one of the chairmen for the March On Washington, stands in front of the statue of Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial after a parade through the streets of the capital, Aug. 28, 1963.
July 25, 2024

Highway 17 North Heritage Trail celebrates local icons

The trail will preserve the legacies of Augusta Savage, A. Philip Randolph, and brothers James Weldon and J. Rosamond Johnson.…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “Jacksonville wants to lure HBCU football to renovated ‘Stadium of the Future’”
Southern defeated Bethune-Cookman 28-18 at EverBank Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
July 2, 2024

Jacksonville wants to lure HBCU football to renovated ‘Stadium of the Future’

The deal with the Jaguars included a stipulation that Jacksonville would work to bring in an annual football game between…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “Durkeeville revitalization study a ‘new chapter’ for historic Black community”
Elder Lee Harris is the longtime pastor of Mount Olive Primitive Baptist Church in Durkeeville. He holds a revitalization plan from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development from 1996 as evidence that some of the promises made to Durkeeville residents have not always been upheld. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
July 1, 2024

Durkeeville revitalization study a ‘new chapter’ for historic Black community

Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan signed legislation on Monday to invest $200,000 in studying how to redevelop the Durkeeville neighborhood.…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “Eastside residents skeptical of getting money promised in stadium deal”
Jaguars owner Shad Khan says everyone should benefit from the renovation of EverBank Stadium. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
June 26, 2024

Eastside residents skeptical of getting money promised in stadium deal

Many residents fear City Council won’t follow through on the Community Benefits Agreement with the Jaguars.…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “MLK’s nephew preaches at St. Augustine church where King delivered sermon 60 years ago”
The Rev. Derek Barber King preaches from inside the pulpit at St. Paul AME Church in St. Augustine on the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Movement. He is joined in the pulpit by St. Paul AME pastor the Rev. Alesia Ford-Burse, left; the Rev. Cerita Battles, and Beverly Troutman. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
June 16, 2024

MLK’s nephew preaches at St. Augustine church where King delivered sermon 60 years ago

The younger King started his remarks by referencing his uncle’s most famous words.…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “Thousands expected at Melanin Market for Juneteenth festival”
The Jacksonville Melanin Market held its Black History 365 Parade and Celebration on March 3, 2024, along A. Philip Randolph Boulevard on Jacksonville’s Eastside. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
June 13, 2024

Thousands expected at Melanin Market for Juneteenth festival

The Eastside-based nonprofit will award 15 $1,000 microgrants to businesses that participate.…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “Alpha Kappa Alpha has high hopes for scholarship drive”
Rosalyn Mixon Phillips is the chapter president of the Gamma Rho Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. She is the leader of Jacksonville-based chapter that has more than 400 members. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
June 7, 2024

Alpha Kappa Alpha has high hopes for scholarship drive

The Gamma Rho Omega chapter of the predominantly Black sorority will host its largest fundraiser ever on Saturday.…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “Waves of Change: Civil rights demonstrators return to St. Augustine”
The St. Johns Cultural Council recognized Purcell Conway and Shed Dawson for their participation in the St. Augustine Beach wade-ins in June 1964. Their efforts to integrate a whites-only beach was part of a series of demonstrations during Freedom Summer. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
June 6, 2024

Waves of Change: Civil rights demonstrators return to St. Augustine

Protesters Shed Dawson and Purcell Conway are honored as a new museum exhibit commemorates wade-ins at a whites-only beach.…

By Noah Hertz and Will Brown

Featured image for “Unbridled Mustang: Mandarin grad hungry to change his hometown”
L.J. Valenzuela will graduate from Mandarin High School with a 4.5 grade point average. He will attend Brown University on a full scholarship in the fall. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
May 30, 2024

Unbridled Mustang: Mandarin grad hungry to change his hometown

L.J. Valenzuela is an activist for LGBTQ rights who loves Jacksonville and plans to return after he earns his degree…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “Grit and gain: How Duval Schools looks to curb chronic absenteeism”
The Duval County Public Schools administration building, with a bronze statue of children reading in front of it. | Claire Heddles, Jacksonville Today
May 29, 2024

Grit and gain: How Duval Schools looks to curb chronic absenteeism

More than 27% of Duval County Public Schools students have missed at least four weeks of class this academic year.…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “Youth entrepreneurship camp geared for Northwest Jax teens”
The Youth Exposure, Inc. board comprises serial entrepreneurs. From left are Nahshon Nicks, Starr Prescott, Aisha Norris and Rick Walker. | Submitted, Dwight Garth, Youth Exposure, Inc.
May 23, 2024

Youth entrepreneurship camp geared for Northwest Jax teens

Youth Exposure Inc. will hold an eight-week camp for children and teens between 10 and 19 years old.…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “Northside ‘huddle’ draws cautious optimism about ‘Stadium of the Future’”
Michael Wright listens to a community conversation about the $1.4 billion proposal from the City of Jacksonville and the Jacksonville Jaguars to renovate EverBank Stadium on Thursday, May 16, 2024. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
May 16, 2024

Northside ‘huddle’ draws cautious optimism about ‘Stadium of the Future’

A community investment promise is helping sell the Stadium of the Future proposal, while Northside activists vow to oppose it.…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “Eastside homeowners get help on utility bills”
Barbara Robertson has lived on the Eastside for nearly 50 years. She says the Restore, Repair and Resilience program has transformed her home on Jessie Street. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
May 16, 2024

Eastside homeowners get help on utility bills

JEA and the city of Jacksonville won an $845,000 federal grant to make Eastside homes more energy-efficient.…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “Diversity in Aquatics, Duval Schools and city parks partner to spread swimming skills”
Miriam Lynch is executive director of Diversity in Aquatics, a nonprofit that looks to eliminate disparities in pool and aquatic access. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
May 15, 2024

Diversity in Aquatics, Duval Schools and city parks partner to spread swimming skills

Drowning is the leading cause of death for children on the autism spectrum. And Black and Latino children are more…

By Will Brown