Michael Brown

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    Michael Brown, Sr. Bio
     
    Michael Brown, Sr. is a husband, father of 4, step-up father to 5 and a Papa to 1 beautiful
    granddaughter. He is a Transformative Speaker, Forgiveness Coach and he & his wife Cal Brown
    are Co-Founders of the Michael Brown Foundation DBA Chosen For Change. The foundation was
    formed in 2014 after the tragic murder of their son Mike Brown, Jr. in Ferguson, MO. Mr. & Mrs. Brown
    have chosen to turn their pain into purpose and build a legacy in memory of Mike, Jr.
     
    Their mission of saving lives one day at a time through empowering youth, strengthening families and
    giving back has made a very positive mark on the St. Louis community and around the world. The Brown’s
    host an Annual Michael Brown Memorial Weekend around August 9th and developed 3 programs that are
    making a great impact year round. The Chosen Fathers Program is for grieving fathers that have
    tragically lost a child, Chosen Families is for families that have tragically lost a loved one and Sisters In
    Purpose, also known as SIPS, is a mentoring program for young ladies ages 12-18. CFC believes in
    BEING the CHANGE and that it takes a village to save a village.
     
    Prior to the death of his son, Michael Brown, Sr. was juggling working as a medical transporter, caring for
    his wife Cal who’s chronic heart failure had landed her in the hospital as well as making sure that nothing
    fell through the cracks for their family of 9. The Brown’s home had caught fire months before, forcing them
    to stay in a hotel. That only brought his tight nit family closer together. Mr. Brown instilled in all of his
    children that education is everything. His son Mike, Jr. graduated from Normandy’s PAL program just over
    a week prior and with one phone call on August 9th Michael Brown, Sr.’s dreams for his first born child
    would be forever changed. The words “the world will know my name” spoken by Mike, Jr. after his
    graduation instantly took on a whole new meaning.
     
    The polarized climate in St. Louis following Mike, Jr. ‘s death meant that the name Mike Brown was now a
    liability. That directly affected both Michael Brown, Sr. and his foundation. Mr. Brown was unemployed with
    very few options to support his large family, so he chose to turn his pain into purpose by sharing his story
    as a Transformative Speaker all over the world.
    Mr. Brown’s fight for justice has been seen through him using his voice as a speaker, working to both give
    back and strengthen his community and demanding change through our local and national justice systems.
    Both August 9th and the unrest in Ferguson, forced the laid back and soft spoken Mr. Brown into the
    spotlight. He began speaking on stages from St. Louis to countries he never dreamed of visiting as the
    cameras were rolling- all while he was trying to grieve. An essential part of Mr. Brown’s initiative is ensuring
    accurate exposure on whom Michael Brown Jr. really was, to show how he ignited change and to give
    Mike, Jr. justice by rehumanizing him.
    For 5 straight years the Brown family had to grieve in public through the constant publicity. Mr. Brown
    chose to use his platform to shed light on the countless other lost loved ones whose names had been taken
    too soon and become hashtags. Through his Chosen Father’s program, CFC serves grieving fathers from
    across the country providing them a platform for their voices to be heard, a space where they can heal and
    be encouraged to stand up to be a positive influence in their communities.
    In 2019 Mr. Brown started working in maximum security prisons through Andre Norman’s Academy of Hope
    which helps to empower incarcerated men by teaching forgiveness. Michael has made a huge impact
    through this program seeing an incredible amount of both personal and professional growth not just in the
    men he reached, but most importantly in himself.
    During the 2020 pivot through the pandemics, Chosen For Change has made an extra effort to provide a
    platform, programs, and a place of healing for Fathers, Youth & Families that have experienced the
    traumatic effects of police brutality and community violence. Michael has vowed to keep his son’s memory
    alive by not stopping his mission. He will never close his mouth on the issues of injustice, police brutality or
    community violence. Whether in the media, within our nation’s prisons, in the streets or on a university
    stage- Mr. Brown is changing the lives of men, women and children through his purpose as he shares “A
    Father’s Perspective.” Mike Brown means CHANGE. Michael Brown, Sr. is Chosen For Change!