Raised in the Crenshaw District of Los Angeles, Brown graduated as valedictorian[full citation needed] from Dorsey High School.

[1] He earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Juris Doctor from UCLA School of Law.

His grandmother on his mother's side was Choctaw and donated land to the historically black Lane College in Jackson, where his ancestors served as faculty and librarians.

His great-grandfather on his mother's side was a Yoruba chief who was kidnapped and brought to America illegally after the slave trade ended.

[2]After graduating from law school, Brown moved to Memphis, Tennessee to work as an attorney for the Legal Services Corporation.

Weirich responded: "It's a sad day that someone that out of touch with reality considers himself a viable candidate for one of the important positions in Shelby County.

Brown apparently raised his voice and interrupted a magistrate judge while representing a woman seeking child support in Shelby County Juvenile Court.

"[12] Responding to a bar discipline complaint filed regarding the contempt incident, Brown declared himself unable to adequately defend himself as a result of health issues, including type II diabetes, hypertension, and stress.

[15] In March 2014, Brown was arrested in Memphis, Tennessee, and charged with five counts of contempt of court and getting "verbally abusive" during a child support case overseen by Magistrate Harold Horne.

[18] In audio obtained by WREG[19] and an available transcript on eonline.com,[20] Brown can be heard arguing that the judge didn't have the authority to sit on the bench.

[24] After his release, he compared himself to notable civil rights activists who spent significant time imprisoned for their activism like Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, and Stokely Carmichael.