Dannielle Brown closes her eyes and points her head to the sky during an event announcing the end of her hunger strike and the launch of the Marquis Jaylen Brown Foundation at Freedom Corner. Credit: CP Photo: Jared Wickerham

After 237 days, Dannielle Brown ended her hunger strike in the same place she started it: Freedom Corner.

Brown first began her hunger strike in protest for answers from Duquesne University in regards to the death of her son Jaylen. On her 50th birthday at Freedom Corner in the Hill District on Thu., March 11, she also announced the beginning of the next step, the launch of The Marquis Jaylen Brown Foundation. Her father, George Clarke, was in attendance and gave her the first donation and an emotional hug following the ceremony.

Custom masks, buttons, and cupcakes were handed out to those in attendance on the rainy Thursday afternoon. Before finishing her speech and updating the supporters on her health with a statement from her doctor regarding her last hospital visit, Brown said, “This is ground zero for this organization. I’m a Pittsburgher!”