“I can’t avoid history and I can’t avoid my history,” Brown continued. “That says something, growing up in the same community as a guy like that, so I definitely did my research. I definitely know what he was fighting for and know what his cause was and it’s still being sought after today and still being felt today by everybody, and I’m one of those.” Fifty years after Hampton’s death, Brown has embraced his own role as an activist. The 25-year-old has an ongoing civil rights lawsuit against the city of Milwaukee. In January, he told ESPN that his decision to reject the city’s $400,000 settlement offer, after alleging police officers used excessive force when they used a stun gun on him following a parking violation in January 2018, wasn’t about the money.