sterling allen brown (may 1, 1901 – january 13, 1989) was a black professor, folklorist, poet, literary critic, and first poet laureate of the district of columbia. he chiefly studied black culture of the southern united states and was a full professor at howard university for most of his career. he was a visiting professor at several other notable institutions, including vassar college, new york university (nyu), atlanta university, and yale university.