Michael Brown was an African American teenager who was fatally shot by a white police officer named Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri, on August 9, 2014. Brown's death sparked widespread protests and brought international attention to issues of police brutality and systemic racism in the United States. The events in Ferguson led to a national conversation about the treatment of Black individuals by law enforcement and the criminal justice system.

Brown's death also inspired the Black Lives Matter movement, which advocates for racial justice and an end to police violence against Black communities. The shooting of Michael Brown highlighted the deep-rooted inequalities and injustices faced by Black Americans and served as a catalyst for broader activism and calls for reform in the criminal justice system.