Sometimes one comment is all it takes to completely shift your goals in life.
Bakersfield native and actor Brian Hooks once listened to an ex-police chief speak during a Rotary event when he heard the comment “that changed my life.”
“He said they were able to predict that a child by age 3 will be headed to jail or prison” depending on the geographic area they live in, the number of gangs they pass on their way to school and whether their parents are or were in jail or prison, explained Hooks.
“I was sitting, waiting, wondering what’s the catch, I don’t like where this is going, but he said what he said,” Hooks said. “At 3, this kid who has no idea what life is, doesn’t have ill will, but because of their area, the arc of life is limited to death or prison.”
But educational programs have proven to change that trajectory, so Hooks, wanting to share his passion for film and television with at-risk youth, founded Left of BANG Entertainment.
