Vann Graves, chief creative officer at J. Walter Thompson Atlanta, teamed with actress/activist producer Kat Graham and director Darren Genet on this Black Lives Matter video titled “At Risk Youth.” The piece takes us through the painful aftermath when a black teenager is shot and killed by the police. The tagline reads, “Wearing a hoody shouldn’t be probable cause.”
The idea came to fruition when Vann’s wife was pregnant with their son–the same year Michael Brown, Eric Garner and Ezell Ford were killed by police officers. Then Laquan McDonald and Timar Rice were killed just days before the Graves’ son was born. Hence this video was born tackling fear, frustration and hurt caused by tragedy, and the toll it takes on the black community as well as the institution of policing in America.
