**FILE** Brandon Jackson, brother of Anton Black, and Janell Black, Anton's mother outside the town council meeting in Greensboro Md where a decision was made on whether to place an officer on administrative leave who was involved in the death of a black teenager, Anton Black The photo is of the dead teens' older brother and mother standing outside the town hall last Thursday night waiting for the decision. January 3, 2019 on the porch of the Greensboro Town Hall on Main Street in Greensboro, MD (Photo by Courtland Milloy/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
**FILE** Brandon Jackson, brother of Anton Black, and Janell Black, Anton's mother outside the town council meeting in Greensboro Md where a decision was made on whether to place an officer on administrative leave who was involved in the death of a black teenager, Anton Black The photo is of the dead teens' older brother and mother standing outside the town hall last Thursday night waiting for the decision. January 3, 2019 on the porch of the Greensboro Town Hall on Main Street in Greensboro, MD (Photo by Courtland Milloy/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

RIDGELY, Maryland — Brandon Jackson, the older brother of Anton Black, an African-American teen killed during an altercation with police officers in Caroline County, Maryland, last fall, has died. He was 32.

Jackson died Saturday afternoon in Ridgely, a town of about 1,600 people. His death was confirmed by the Ridgely Police Department, which has initiated an investigation with the OCME.

Following the September death of 19-year-old Anton Black while in police custody, Jackson rose to the forefront of activists calling for an investigation into a tragedy that has affected African-American communities throughout Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

Jackson participated in a Jan. 21 live podcast by the Baltimore Sun to bring attention to his brother’s death. Later that evening at an event celebrating the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Gov. Larry Hogan (R) made his first public comments on the case.

The governor’s remarks prompted release within 72 hours of a report from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) calling Black’s death “accidental,” as well as a 38-minute body cam video of the incident. With recent editorials in daily newspapers in Baltimore and Washington, D.C., the case has gained national attention after languishing for months.

Jackson told The Informer that the acknowledgement from Hogan “put a smile on my face.”

A native of Chestertown in Kent County, Jackson told The Informer shortly before his death that while he was living in Baltimore, younger brother Anton had visited with boxes of clothes from recent modeling events.

During an October meeting at the Greensboro town hall, Jackson wore medals his brother had accumulated as a state champion track athlete at North Caroline County High School. In December, Jackson spoke in front of the courthouse in the county seat of Denton at a rally demanding answers and justice for Black’s death.

After police body camera footage was released to members of the media in the Greensboro Town Hall late last month, Jackson sat onstage at a church across the street, holding a poster displaying photos of his brother.

“Trying [to] stay off of social media,” Jackson wrote on his Facebook account on Jan. 26. “But thank you everyone who has been supportive to me and my family. May God bless everyone.”

This correspondent is a guest contributor to The Washington Informer.

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