User talk:Ericjonathanbrewer

Eric Jonathan Brewer
Eric Jonathan Brewer is a bold and outspoken American investigative journalist, publisher, speaker, political consultant, former mayor and cabinet level municipal and public housing administrator from Cleveland, Ohio. Unlike most journalists, Brewer's been on the inside of government and combines that experience with his investigative journalistic skills to break down the complexitites of local politics into an easily-understandle political perspective for the average person. A fearless and controversial talk show host, Brewer was once called "the most dangerous man in Cleveland" because of his no-holds-barred insight into local and national political affairs.

Family and early life
Eric Jonathan Brewer is the eldest of five children born to Harold Pride Brewer of Cleveland, Ohio and Annia Sussie Davis of Bird Eye, Arkansas. Born November 21, 1953 in Cleveland, Ohio, his parents relocated to St. Louis, Missouri in 1955 after the birth of his sister. His father drove a truck out of St. Louis, Missouri before moving across the Mississippi River to East Saint Louis, Illinois. The Brewer's lived in the Samuel Gomper Homes from 1959 until 1969.

In predominantly black East Saint Louis, Eric attended Webster Elementary School where he excelled as a student and began playing trumpet at the age of 9. His father was hired along with former U.S. Rep. and St. Louis Mayor Bill Clay, Sr. to become one of the Bi-State Bus System's first Negro drivers. Harold Brewer became heavily-involved in East Saint Louis' politics and community activism. As his oldest child and son, Harold Brewer took Eric with him to community and political meetings where the child saw his father speaking out on issues involving racial equality, equal housing, education and the fact that East Saint Louis was a majority black city being run by white elected officials. brewer's father wanted to replace Mayor Alvin G. Fields.

Brewer attended St. Luke AME Church led by Rev. John Wharton where he served as an altar boy. Harold Brewer organized Boy Scout Troop #275 and the East Saint Louis BlueJays little league baseball for Eric and the sons of the families living in the Samuel Gomper Homes. After Webster Elementary School, Brewer attended Assumption Catholic High School.

Harold Brewer's political activities caused the family to abruptly leave East Saint Louis in 1969. He was leading a campaign to change East Saint Louis' charter to elect the city's first black mayor. He told his son that henchmen connected to an East Saint Louis bar owner with mob connections were sending him a message when they stopped Brewer's youngest sister on her way home from school with a message for her father to call them. Fearing for his family's safety, Harold Brewer rented a U-Haul trailer, packed up his family and left for Cleveland. The last political act he committed in East Saint Louis was to deliver the charter change petitions to the St. Clair County elections board.

Career
Brewer enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in September 1972 and trained as a medical administrative specialist. He served in Udorn Thani Thailand at the 432nd Royal Thai Air Force Base during the final days of the Vietnam War. He was there for the Mayaquez Incident and the fall of South Vietnam in May 1975. He returned to the U.S. to complete his 4 year contract and remained in San Antonio, Texas to attend San Antonio College on his way to publishing a string of city-based newspapers.

Newspaper A series of profiles in Larry Flynt's Hustler Magazine is what sparked Brewer's interest in publishing.