Douglass Academy valedictorian Kamar Graves, senior Drake Glover and junior Deon Butler won an Emmy award last month from the Michigan chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for their music video “Peace.”
The video was shot in front of Douglass Academy as part of a project for the Lyricist Society, a school hip-hop club headed by staff member Quan Neloms. The club produces a music video each year.
“We were the only Detroit Public School there, so it was good to represent Detroit as a whole,” said Graves. “I was real nervous, I didn't think we had a chance, to be honest.”
The song’s lyrics are a protest against police brutality.
“As a black person, police brutality was common to a black person,” said Graves.
Glover said he believed someone “needs to speak up and stop it.”
Butler, who now attends Detroit Collegiate Preparatory High School, and Glover were the featured rappers in the music video, which is available on the Lyricist Society channel on YouTube.
“Everyone that knows that I won feels happy that I won,” said Glover.
Lyricist Society members wrote lyrics and performed on music videos, worked behind the camera in areas such as videography, documentary making and sound engineering.
“I feel like it was a great achievement to win an Emmy, especially with other participating schools,” said Graves.
