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 “Native Jaxson returns to open coffee shop near his roots”
Leo Baker celebrates the grand opening of Vantage Point Coffee Co. on Friday, Nov. 17, 2023. His wife, Jennifer, left, and son Malachai, second from left, help cut the ribbon alongside the company's four employees. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
November 21, 2023

Native Jaxson returns to open coffee shop near his roots

Leo Baker, owner of Vantage Point Coffee Co., appreciates the chance to give back to the community where he grew…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “Eartha’s Farm & Market brings agribusiness to Northwest Jacksonville”
Eartha's Farm and Market held its first farmer's market on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023, in the Moncrief Springs community. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
November 17, 2023

Eartha’s Farm & Market brings agribusiness to Northwest Jacksonville

The 10-acre urban farm in Moncrief Springs is expected to help fill a need for fresh fruit and vegetables on…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “United Way invests $10 million for affordable housing”
Phyllis Brown reviews information about the North Riverside CDC Home Repair program during a community meeting April 20, 2023. Brown has lived in North Riverside for decades. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
November 15, 2023

United Way invests $10 million for affordable housing

The organization will devote part of the money to North Riverside and the Eastside, two predominantly Black neighborhoods that have…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “JEA expects to raise electric rates in April”
JEA Managing Director and CEO Jay Stowe speaks following a Board of Directors meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
November 7, 2023

JEA expects to raise electric rates in April

JEA plans to increase electric rates for both its residential and commercial customers this spring. Without the proposed 3.5% increase,…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “Jacksonville Armada will join new league, play in new stadium”
The Jacksonville Armada defeated Miami United FC in the first round of the U.S. Open Cup on Thursday, March 23, 2023 at Hodges Stadium. (Photo by Will Brown, Official Florida FC)
November 3, 2023

Jacksonville Armada will join new league, play in new stadium

The Jacksonville Armada will join the MLS Next Pro league in time for the 2025 season, and the club will…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “When DeSantis says ‘woke,’ some in Jacksonville hear ‘Black’”
Gov. Ron DeSantis has said Florida is a place where woke goes to die. In Jacksonville, some pastors and civil rights groups, consider anti-woke as a euphemism for anti-Black. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
October 31, 2023

When DeSantis says ‘woke,’ some in Jacksonville hear ‘Black’

As Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis campaigns for president on a platform of “anti-wokeness,” pastors and civil rights activists in Jacksonville…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “Emerald Trail agreement pushes project forward”
Groundwork Jacksonville CEO Kay Ehas speaks at an Emerald Trail event. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
October 26, 2023

Emerald Trail agreement pushes project forward

The city of Jacksonville, the Jacksonville Transportation Authority and Groundwork Jacksonville are collaborating on the project.…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “Ameris Bank cited for blocking Black and Hispanic borrowers in Jacksonville”
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland visited Jacksonville on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
October 19, 2023

Ameris Bank cited for blocking Black and Hispanic borrowers in Jacksonville

The U.S. Justice Department says the bank denied or discouraged home loan applications in mostly Black and Hispanic neighborhoods.…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “Duval School Board suspends superintendent search”
Duval County School Board Chair Kelly Coker discusses the board's decision to suspend its superintendent search on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
October 18, 2023

Duval School Board suspends superintendent search

The School Board said it was disappointed that only 10 people applied for the position. The search will resume later.…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “Introducing the applicants for Duval schools superintendent”
Duval County School Board member Darryl Willie reviews the qualifications for superintendent that the board will consider this fall. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
October 17, 2023

Introducing the applicants for Duval schools superintendent

Here’s a rundown on the 10 candidates for Duval County Schools superintendent. The School Board will consider them Wednesday.…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “PHOTO ESSAY | Northwest Classic maintains community feel at temporary location”
Raines offensive tackle Soloman Thomas, right, jokes with Ribault quarterback Timothy Cole after the 54th Northwest Classic. Raines dominated its rival Ribault in the 54th Northwest Classic on Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023. The Vikings lead the all-time series 40-14. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
October 16, 2023

PHOTO ESSAY | Northwest Classic maintains community feel at temporary location

The location may have been different, but Jacksonville’s 54th annual Northwest Classic football game, on Saturday, Oct. 14, maintained its…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “Duval’s next superintendent must help spell out literacy solutions”
Duval County third graders have reading proficiency scores below the statewide average and below Florida's six, large, urban school districts. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
October 4, 2023

Duval’s next superintendent must help spell out literacy solutions

In the most recent academic year, just 46% of Duval County third-graders were proficient at reading.…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “Video of Le’Keian Woods’ arrest by Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office sparks outrage”
Natassia Woods says her 24-year-old son, LeKeian, sustained a concussion following his Sept. 29, 2023 arrest where video appears to show a JSO officer kicked Woods while he was handcuffed and on the ground. More than 50 people protested JSO's the actions on the steps of the Police Memorial Building on Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
October 1, 2023

Video of Le’Keian Woods’ arrest by Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office sparks outrage

Community members are protesting the beating of a man in Jacksonville police custody.…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “Conference brings Black resistance to Jacksonville”
Diana Greene, left, speaks with Johnnetta Betsch Cole after a reading of banned and restricted books in James Weldon Johnson Park in Jacksonville. Cole, an anthropologist and former president of Spelman College and Bennett College, is a Jacksonville native. Greene, CEO of the Children's Literacy Initiative, is the former superintendent of Duval County Public Schools. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
September 25, 2023

Conference brings Black resistance to Jacksonville

The Association for the Study of African American Life and History read from the works of Black authors whose writings…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “City plans to buy proposed Brentwood liquor store”
A proposed liquor store at the corner of Golfair Boulevard and Davis Street is less than 200 feet away from KIPP Voice Academy. When a zoning execption for the store was approved in 2020 the school had yet to be built. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
September 25, 2023

City plans to buy proposed Brentwood liquor store

City Council Member Ju’Coby Pittman has told residents the city will buy the property, which sits less than 200 feet…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “100 new voices sought for ‘Voces de Hispanos’ project, with Jax City Hall exhibit opening Monday”
The River Runners are a pair of statutes sculpted by Jacksonville-based artist and art educator Derby Ulloa. He was one of nearly 70 people who participated in an oral history project featuring Hispanic residents from across Northeast Florida. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
September 14, 2023

100 new voices sought for ‘Voces de Hispanos’ project, with Jax City Hall exhibit opening Monday

An oral history project with a City Hall exhibit is looking for 100 more Hispanic community members in the Jacksonville…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “Duval School Board hears how parents answered superintendent search survey”
Andrea Messina is the CEO of the Florida School Boards Association that is helping Duval County Public Schools faciliate its superintendent search. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
September 12, 2023

Duval School Board hears how parents answered superintendent search survey

Duval County Public Schools will have a new, permanent, superintendent by January. The Duval County School Board briefly considered delaying…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “Dollar General shooting victims remembered alongside calls for change”
Chayvaughn Payne, left, tells mourners at The Bethel Church that his mother, Angela Carr, was a hard working woman who "did what she had to do "for her kids, her grandkids (and) hell, she even did it for her friends." Carr was joined in the pulpit by the Rev. Al Sharpton and Bishop Rudolph McKissick Jr. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
September 10, 2023

Dollar General shooting victims remembered alongside calls for change

This weekend, pastors at funerals for the victims of the racially motivated shooting on Aug. 26 in Jacksonville challenged the…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “DeSantis fumes over question linking him to racist murders”
Gov. Ron DeSantis has over 40 ethics violations to sign off on, according to a report from the Florida Commission on Ethics. The oldest case dates back over seven years. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
September 7, 2023

DeSantis fumes over question linking him to racist murders

Gov. Ron DeSantis erupted when a Black military veteran blamed him for the mass shooting at Dollar General in Jacksonville.…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “Northside residents seek fairness from superintendent”
Janee White Sapp and her sons identify the top qualities they would like to see in the next Duval County Schools superintendent. They attended a community forum Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023, at Raines High School. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
September 7, 2023

Northside residents seek fairness from superintendent

The crowd at a community forum said the school district has ignored the needs of Jacksonville’s Black community.…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “PHOTO ESSAY | Big Cat Classic gives Edward Waters community chance to count its blessings”
Edward Waters defensive back Kamren Thomas (10) celebrates his interception with linebacker Sky Louis during the second half of the Big Cat Classic. Florida Memorial defeated Edward Waters 38-21 in The Big Cat Classic on Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023 in Jacksonville. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
September 4, 2023

PHOTO ESSAY | Big Cat Classic gives Edward Waters community chance to count its blessings

When the Edward Waters University football team kicked off its 2023 season on Saturday afternoon at Nathaniel Glover Community Field…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “PHOTO ESSAY | Black joy in Jacksonville ”
Martinique Lewis is president of the Black Travel Alliance, a nonprofit that focuses on diversity in travel marketing and travel storytelling. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
August 31, 2023

PHOTO ESSAY | Black joy in Jacksonville 

This photo essay is a head nod to the nuance and the full lives of the more than 300,000 Black…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “Relief fund activated to help community heal after racist mass shooting ”
August 30, 2023

Relief fund activated to help community heal after racist mass shooting 

A relief fund that’s helped Jacksonville recover from past hurricanes and the COVID-19 pandemic has been reactivated in response to…

By Will Brown

Featured image for “Duval Schools will resume classes Friday”
The Duval Schools administration building. | Claire Heddles, Jacksonville Today
August 30, 2023

Duval Schools will resume classes Friday

Duval Schools will remain closed Thursday. Clay County and St. Johns County schools plan to return to class.…

By Will Brown