Dannielle Brown Bio

Dannielle Brown’s #Justice4JaylenBrown movement, like so many other hashtag movements, was sparked by personal tragedy. On Oct. 4, 2018, Duquesne University law enforcement officers failed to protect Brown’s vulnerable student-athlete son, Marquis “Jaylen” Brown, resulting in his death just one day after his 21st birthday. Due to a lack of officer-worn body cameras and the university’s refusal to support an independent investigation, Brown may never fully know the circumstances that led to Jaylen’s death.

Brown has channeled her grief into preventing another tragedy at the hands of an unprepared and unresponsive university. What started as a quest to get answers about her son’s death has evolved into a national campaign for change to the way institutions of higher education interact with students — especially students of color — and their parents in times of crisis. Brown acts on behalf of all mothers who have lost a child to questionable or unjust circumstances.

Brown is not just the mother of a student who inexplicably died while in the care of university law enforcement officers; she holds a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and a master’s degree in psychology, she is a former law enforcement officer, and she is currently a Department of Defense employee. Her unique set of personal circumstances and professional background has quickly centered her as an important advocate for campus police reform and expansion of mental health resources for students and staff.

Since July 4, 2020, Brown has maintained a hunger strike to 

demand #Justice4JaylenBrown and safety for all students.

She established a 24/7 encampment of volunteers to amplify

her mission, and she has already influenced several major

universities to make changes to their campus safety

protocols. She regularly gives talks and collaborates with

students who want to make their own campuses safer and

more inclusive.

Brown has three demands for school officials so that not one

more student becomes a hashtag:

1. Ensure a transparent and independent investigation

with full parental access to all university records

relating to student incidents.

2. Equip all campus law enforcement officers with body

cameras.

3. Require credentialed crisis response training,

including mental health intervention, for all campus

law enforcement officers and other first responders.

“For the mothers when the camera not rolling...”

— Dannielle Brown