Brown gave much credit to his parents, Jacky and Latasha.
“They’re bookends for me,” Brown said. “They keep me straight.”
Jacky Brown, who works at Home Depot, said it was his wife who set the rules in the house, and Latasha said she made sure all household chores were done before playtime began.
She said it was important to read to children every day.
“We read every night to Gabriel until he could read to us,” Latasha said.
“We believe a child is what he sees,” Jacky said. “I remember watching Sesame Street on television so much, I’d go to work humming those songs. We tried to watch educational programs, and I was told Gabriel could read before he was one.”
The Browns moved to Trotwood from Chicago 16 years ago, after Gabriel was born, because they felt, “a child could be a child here.”
The Browns had lived previously in the South Side Hyde Park area of Chicago, just a few blocks from where President Barack Obama lived.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2157 or mkatz@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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