Meet 16 year-old Spearhead—Cayden Brown

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cayden Brown.  

Hi Cayden, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
I go by the name of Cayden Brown. I am a 16-year-old pioneer. I don’t conform to labels. I can never consider myself to be one thing. I have a deep passion towards various creative directions. Even though I’m focusing on law, I never label myself under a professional title. I do not appreciate the way society tries to force you under a category. I don’t cooperate with that. I think that everything I invest myself into is a form of art. I’m using the gifts that God gave me, and that is a beautiful thing. If I had to be known for one thing when I died, I’d want people to see me as the person who disrupted the system. Unapologetically. Fixed the system to the way they should be.

I strongly believe in the value of hard work as inspired by my parents, Jacob Brown and Jami Rose. Combining my passion with my role models, I plan to uphold the family reputation for success.

I am also very prominent in my church. I credit all of my success to my Lord and savior. I openly express my religious beliefs, which are carried out through my works in the community.

Social justice and equality have always been at the top of my priorities. As if the desire to fill the void of equality is ingrained into my being, I’ve always taken every opportunity to express my convictions regarding the topic. I exhibited my beliefs through each of the numerous project types that he worked on. My activist nature was first publicly displayed in the 7th grade, when I was presented with an unjust school regulation. I was compelled to take measures against this as I believed it to be a clear illustration of justice being violated. I issued an in-depth letter to my administrators, imploring them to amend the policy right away. After consideration of my letter, the policy was repealed, and I had successfully restored justice for the entire male student body. I continue to undertake similar works and I have no intentions of stopping anytime soon.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Nothing about my journey has been smooth or easy. I grew up in a predominately White-populated school. Everywhere I went, I was different. For a long time, I was unable to find home. Unable to find a reflection of me outside of my own head. I was surrounded by kids with seemingly happy homes, but my parents had split. I was bullied for the way my hair looked, for how big my nose was, how “loud” I was. And in the fourth grade, I didn’t have the resources to understand why I looked different from everyone else. But it was more than just my appearance. There was something inside of me that I still really haven’t figured out fully, but it always made me so furious to see those kinds of imbalances in the world. The more I lived, the more I learned about why these imbalances exist. So, I started fighting them. 

Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
The work I’m doing to ‘Push the line’ for justice—as my good friend, Tezlyn Figaro says, is not on Instagram and it’s not on Twitter. I’m doing the groundwork that nobody wants to do. I can’t take a single step without getting pricked by a throb in my foot. There’s a cost that most “advocates” are not prepared for. It’s not in everyone to be able to wear this hat. That is okay! I’ve just learned that my journey to justice is going to be much harder being the one truly moving the bricks. Getting my hands dirty off the internet. What people see on my page is merely a summary. My hope is that people will begin to understand how true change comes about through the release of my upcoming endeavor, The Trespass Project.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Society grooms us to believe that you shouldn’t post about your actual passions. That is a lie. I was, actually recently, scared to post about Civil Rights and Social Justice. When I stopped caring what people would think, I felt more support than I had ever felt prior. Build your circle to encourage whatever it is you want to do. If they don’t uplift you, those aren’t your people. 

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caydenmbrown/?hl=en
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cayden-brown/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/iamcaydb

Image Credits
Kim Brown Photography