Actors Michael B. Jordan and Danny Glover are among the high-profile black names to appear in a short film against police brutality.
Against the Wall, created for legendary entertainer and activist Harry Belafonte's social justice charity, Sankofa, is a response to the spate of police shootings of African-Americans in the U.S. over the last year.
The poignant public information film sees Jordan and Glover play victims forced "against the wall" by police officers as various news reports of shootings are heard. Jordan notably earned acclaim for his role as real-life police shooting victim Oscar Grant in 2013's Fruitvale Station.
The Wire actor Michael K. Williams and political activist Van Jones also star.
The four-minute public service announcement, directed by Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz, concludes with the message: "Black is not a weapon."
"While the militarization of the police and egregious use of force continues, we know this is a modern form of brutality from our deep and dark past," said Belafonte. "The constant vilification of people of color is not new to the American psyche. Somehow cell phone video, dash cam video and news media flashing before our very eyes, hour after hour, the murder and victimization of black and brown bodies has desensitized us."
Explaining the aim of the PSA, Belafonte added: "By using the faces of those we recognize, familiar faces, we look to re-sensitize the community to really see the problem. The artistic community is responding to the plight of our disenfranchised.
"We are shining a light and calling out to all to take a look, listen and feel within your heart to take action. As artists we have an opportunity to educate and stimulate thoughts and ideas to shift narratives and not only show life as it is but as it could be."
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