Benjamin Brown (activist)

Benjamin Brown (May 12, 1945 – May 12, 1967) was an African-American student at Jackson State University active in the civil rights movement, killed on campus during a standoff between law enforcement and students.[1][2] Upon encountering the standoff (at the sidelines) after picking up a sandwich from a cafe to bring back to his wife, he was shot by two stray shotgun blasts from law enforcement firing into the crowd.[1][3] No arrests were ever made.[1]

Benjamin Brown
Born(1945-05-12)May 12, 1945
DiedMay 12, 1967(1967-05-12) (aged 22)
Jackson State University, Jackson, Mississippi
Resting placeSweet Rest Cemetery Pearl, Rankin County, Mississippi, USA
OccupationStudent

In 2001, a Hinds County grand jury reviewed the case and blamed two deceased officers: Jackson police Buddy Kane and Mississippi Highway Patrolman Lloyd Jones. The brown family filed a lawsuit and settled for $50,000 from the city of Jacksonville. There has been no marker on the JSU campus recognizing the events that took place.[1]

Since then the Southern Poverty Law Center has commemorated Benjamin Brown as a civil rights martyr on a memorial designed by Maya Lin.[1]

References
  1. "No marker recognizes Ben Brown's killing on JSU campus". The Clarion Ledger. Retrieved 2019-10-26.
  2. "Benjamin Brown". Find A Grave.
  3. "Civil Rights Martyrs". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved 2019-10-26.
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