Jackson State University officials and local leaders unveiled a new historic marker Thursday to honor Benjamin Brown, who was shot and killed during protests in 1967. Brown was struck by police gunfire during a demonstration near downtown Jackson.
The incident occurred on May 11, 1967, when Brown, then 21, was walking to a café on Lynch Street. He encountered a standoff between students and police officers protesting the presence of Jackson police on campus. Law enforcement, including the state highway patrol and National Guard, fired into the crowd. Brown was hit in the leg, back, and head. Despite cries for help, it took 45 minutes for police to take him to a hospital. He died the following morning, his 22nd birthday.
The ceremony, part of Jackson State’s annual Gibbs-Green Commemoration, also honored students Phillip Lafayette Gibbs and James Earl Green, who were shot and killed during protests on campus in 1970. Brown’s marker will eventually be relocated to the Council of Federated Organizations Civil Rights Center on Lynch Street, after nearby road construction is completed, said Robert Luckett, a university history professor.
JSU President Denise Jones Gregory emphasized the importance of remembering history and honoring those who fought for justice. She pledged that the university’s commemorations would keep alive the legacy of Gibbs, Green, and James “Lap” Baker, who was also involved in civil rights activism and died earlier this year at age 77.
During the event, Renae Baker and Nick D’Angelo Baker, relatives of James “Lap” Baker, sang “Someday We’ll All Be Free,” by Donny Hathaway. Arthur Brown, Benjamin Brown’s brother, expressed gratitude for the new marker. He highlighted his brother’s lifelong activism, from protesting Freedom Riders’ arrests to registering Black voters with COFO during Freedom Summer.
State Rep. Zakiya Summers called the marker a reminder that Mississippi’s history of civil rights cannot be erased. She praised Baker as a bridge between generations and urged collective action to protect voting rights, education, and justice. John Spann of the Mississippi Humanities Council described the act of remembering as resistance, vital to preserving truth and dignity for Black communities in the South.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
