Jackson's Verdict — Lisa Arnoux-Brown

Jackson Wellington is a normal teenager on the cusp of adulthood. Along with his cousin Joshua and close friend Benjamin Dorsey, college was the next stop into becoming men. Terrell 'Slash' Jones was an angry young man who lived and breathed gang life, but a chance meeting with Jackson made him feel almost ashamed for the way he lived his life. These African American young men each had their own world view.While Jackson, his cousin and Benjamin enjoyed their annual family reunions, and reciting their family histories, Slash was busy dishing out his share of violence. Jackson never really thought about his royal heritage until his family were returning home from their reunion. They were stopped by Southern highway troopers and mistaken for suspects that shattered his view of the world. That was the summer of the Black Lives Matter movement, and it was also the summer Jackson, Joshua, Benjamin, and Terrell threw their hats in to protest their unfair treatment. Their journey would take them through the court system where they encountered frustration and bewilderment. How can they seek justice in a system stacked against them, and how long will it take to change those laws?