George Skelton: Even at 90 and with deteriorating eyesight, Willie Brown's political vision remains unmatched

The first time I saw Willie Brown he was grinning widely, drawing inquisitive eyes and wearing a fashionable Nehru jacket.

"And beads," he reminded me the other day with a chuckle.

That was long ago — 59 years — when Brown first showed up in the state Assembly chamber to be sworn in as a freshman legislator.

He was a 30-year-old Black lawyer from San Francisco in a strange sea of white males who were attired in traditional dark business suits with collared shirts and ties.

The Nehru jacket was generally a symbol of counterculture rebellion — and, for Brown, a sign of self-confidence and independence.

Brown told me recently he planned to wear a similar jacket — he now calls