Andrew Brimmer, the first Black governor of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on February 26, 1966, during the civil rights movement.
Prior to this role, Brimmer, with a Ph.D. from Harvard Business School, served as a staff economist at the Federal Reserve and as deputy assistant secretary of commerce under President John F. Kennedy.
During his tenure at the Reserve, spanning eight years, Brimmer focused on economic conditions for African Americans, researching wage and income disparities. He resigned in 1974 to teach at Harvard Business School.
Brimmer passed away at 86 on October 7, 2012.
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