Tivy (Terry) Brown
(Also known as Terry Africa Brown and T’ Africa)
Manager, Songwriter, Music Producer, Playwright, Author

Tivy (Terry) L. Brown, 72, died Wednesday, April 12, 2017 at the Sunnybrook Health Center in Toronto following a brief illness. Tivy is predeceased by his parents, Rev. Cyril Winford Brown and Evelyn Lena Allen, and his brother, Gerald E. Brown.

Tivy is survived by his seven loving children: Marcia, Audrey, Annmarie, Tyrone, Roger, Handel and James; thirteen grandchildren: Andre, Alvin, Adriana, Shaneka, Gavane, Brian, Jaisha, Sheshane, Tyric, Analize, Alyssa, Anessa, and Omar; four great-grand children: Aileyah, Ashanti, Jaylin and Jawys; three brothers: Noel, Anthony and Alexander; two sisters: Millicent and Hyacinth; as well as his beloved extended community, family, and friends.

Among Tivy’s diverse aspirations was his desire to know the prerequisite for human manifestation on the physical plane. His quest for knowledge was manifested in his work as Terry Brown and Terry Africa Brown. Terry was a free thinker who sought answers to questions many feared to ask. When Terry was quite young he asked a question during one of his primary school sessions: “Who taught the first teacher?” Everyone laughed at him. Terry credited the reaction of his peers and faculty for his desire to know. At the time, he didn’t know they were just feeding their egos, but later in life, he thanked the universe for the experience.

Always in pursuit of knowledge, Terry held a Community Worker Diploma (H) from George Brown College, in Toronto, Canada. He was a genuine altruist and received several accolades attesting to his community and charitable contributions. Among them is the Bob Marley Memorial Award bestowed by the Canadian Reggae Music Awards for his invaluable contribution to the development of Reggae Music in Canada.

T’ Africa, as he was known in the Arts world, was a visionary who tirelessly committed himself to the development of community art-forms. Among his artistic roles were songwriter, playwright, author, music producer, actor, event producer, promoter and presenter. Terry made his acting debut as a spiritual scientist in his first stage play, “Ruff Neck Mamma,” and donned a preacher’s collar in his radio drama, “Jiggz and the Preacher.” As a songwriter and music producer. T’ Africa was viewed as a ‘diamond in the rough,’ with hundreds of unrecorded materials, several works in progress, plus classic releases yet to be discovered by conscious music lovers globally.

In 1974 he co-launched the solo career of “Leroy (Artist) Brown with an original song entitled “Prayer of Peace.” In 1993, he founded Toronto's Marcus Garvey Celebrations, which he coordinated, promoted, and presented for sixteen years. This event pays tribute to Marcus Mosiah Garvey, First National Hero of Jamaica and founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association. All levels of the Canadian government have recognized the value of this event, and in 2000 The City of York Community Council proclaimed the Marcus Garvey Celebrations to have “Municipal and Community Significance.”

Terry lives on in the rich legacy of art and community impact he has left behind.