The NFL and Jay Z’s Roc Nation Tackle Black Men Seen as a Threat in Botham Jean PSA

In a compelling Public Service Announcement, the National Football League and Roc Nation harness the grief felt by many when a Dallas police officer shot and killed Botham Jean who was sitting in his apartment eating ice cream when the officer walked in, shot and killed the 26-year-old, saying she thought Jean was in her apartment. Last October a jury convicted 31-year-old Amber Guyger of murder in a case often viewed as an example of the “rush to judgement” Black men face.  

Click to see PSA here.

The two-minute video features Jean’s family sharing memories of the beloved accountant who graduated from Harding University, a private Christian college in Arkansas. A neighbor, who testified during the trial and was subsequently gunned down, told jurors that he often heard Jean playing Gospel music. The homepage of the Botham Jean Foundation reads, “Promoting Christian intervention for Social change.”

The Jean PSA is the third released as part of The Responsibility Program created by the NFL and Roc Nation as a platform to raise social justice awareness.