Eva M. Clayton: “Ron Brown was a bridgebuilder, a peacemaker, a soldier for souls, a fisher for young men and young women. Out of the…”

“Ron Brown was a bridgebuilder, a peacemaker, a soldier for souls, a fisher for young men and young women. Out of the ashes and wreckage of that faraway mountain in Bosnia-- something remains--a blade of grass, an idea. The idea--Ron Brown's living legacy--is that you can grow up in Harlem, and progress in Washington. He left with us a prototype to follow, a style, a design, a mold, a model that we may never duplicate, but we can certainly replicate. Under the careful counsel of his father and mother, he learned that it is far better to build bridges than to burn them. He knew that a bridge could arch a flood. And so, he built bridges between the rich and poor, between people of every hue, between cherished views and fresh beliefs. Perhaps that is why his motorcade journey to his resting place in Arlington was as appropriate on U Street as it was on Constitution Avenue. Ron Brown was a bridgebuilder. His time spent in service to America, as an officer of the U.S. Army, apparently taught him that the best way to preserve world peace and avoid war is by doing business.”