John Legend, L.A. Times Release Juneteenth Foster Care
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- John Legend and L.A. Times Short Docs released "I Got My Brother" on Juneteenth, a documentary about foster care reform advocate Jarrett Harper and his brother Baylon, now streaming on the L.A. Times YouTube channel and latimes.com
- Jarrett Harper was sentenced to life without parole at 17 for killing the man who abused him and his brother in a Los Angeles foster home; his sentence was later commuted by Governor Jerry Brown and he was ultimately released by Governor Newsom
- The Juneteenth premiere date marks the seventh anniversary of Jarrett's release from prison — a deliberate choice by director Victor Gabriel, a licensed therapist who has done community therapy in Compton, Watts, and South Central
- Legend met Harper during a 2015 visit to Lancaster Prison in California and advocated for his freedom; Harper now runs the organization Better Days, mentors foster youth, and has pushed to end life sentences for children
- The film is structured as a conversation between the Harper brothers, weaving trauma with "magical realism, wry humor and an unbreakable brotherly bond," and is executive produced by Legend, Mike Jackson, Ty Stiklorius of Get Lifted Film Co., and two-time Oscar-winning director Ben Proudfoot
Why it matters: By premiering on Juneteenth — which marks Jarrett Harper's seventh year out of prison after nearly two decades inside — the film hands foster care reform advocates a narrative tool: a man failed by the system at 17 who emerged to fight the very pipeline that consumed him, with governors and a Grammy-winning artist already behind his cause.
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