David W. Johnson Creates Portraits for JUMP: Changing the Narrative After Incarceration

Photographer and Director David W. Johnson has built a career around purpose-driven storytelling, creating work that gives perspective and nurtures connection. Throughout his career, he has witnessed both a legacy of creative impact and a shortage of opportunity for certain groups, especially at a commercial level. As his experience grew, he constantly asked the question, “How come everyone bidding on a job on a commercial level doesn’t look like me?”. This has fueled a commitment to access and representation, making his collaboration with JUMP (Justice and Upward Mobility Project) a natural fit. While the project involved creating portraits and documentary-style imagery, David doesn’t describe the relationship in traditional client terms. The work was driven by a belief in the cause itself. 

JUMP is focused on supporting people navigating life after incarceration, specifically the transition back into the workforce and toward earning a livable wage. David’s portraits for the project are part of JUMP’s larger mission of narrative change: shifting public perception of formerly incarcerated people by centering their humanity, and complexity. This is the beginning of an ongoing body of work, built on interviews, trust, and the belief that connection should be about impact, not influence.

How did you get connected with JUMP?

I got connected through a friend of mine who was a longtime creative director at Leo Burnett. He was incarcerated as a young man, inspiring him to work with JUMP and get the story of these individuals out there. He helped me start KNDRD and has since started his own coffee shop. One of his mentors is Larry Miller, who started JUMP. 

Larry Miller helped Michael Jordan start the Jordan Brand, and he was one of the only corporate executives to build a billion-dollar brand inside of another billion-dollar brand. He did all of this while having a record connected to a gang-related homicide from when he was a teenager. Nobody knew, and he was always afraid someone would find out.

Years later, in his sixties, he decided to write a book with his daughter and finally tell his story. That’s how he ended up publicly sharing it. Along with that, he started JUMP, which stands for Justice and Upward Mobility Project.

What does JUMP focus on specifically?

JUMP is focused on what happens after someone is incarcerated. It’s not about stopping people from being prosecuted, and it’s not about the work while they’re inside. It’s specifically about helping people coming out of incarceration make a successful transition into the workforce and earn a livable wage.

One in three people have been impacted by the justice system in some way. And I think it’s something like 85–90% of people who go into prison come out. But there are so many laws and obstacles that make it hard to earn a livable wage, and then that can push people back toward the same circumstances that landed them there in the first place.

What kind of momentum is JUMP building?

They’re technically based in Charlotte now, but the crazy thing is Larry has so many connections that they’ve already started a partnership with the NBA and NFL. There are also a lot of celebrities and big names who are interested in helping make this happen.

How else do these portraits support JUMP’s marketing efforts?

The biggest goal is narrative change. A lot of people think about incarceration in very one-dimensional ways, but when you actually sit with people and hear their stories, you realize there is always more complexity and more humanity there.

This project is just the beginning. As the work continues to evolve, David plans to expand the series of portraits and interviews, building a deeper visual and narrative archive around the people and stories driving JUMP’s mission forward.

Why was this project important for you to be involved in?

For me, the most powerful part of this work is recognizing that there are people who have made meaningful contributions to the world who might never have had that chance if society had written them off completely.

Larry Miller is the clearest example of that. If people had only seen the worst moment of his life when he was 17, you wouldn’t have the Jordan Brand as we know it today. His story shows that people are capable of growth and transformation.

A big part of this project is about belonging and the willingness to listen. There are entire communities that have been pushed into survival mode because of limited access to opportunity. When someone leaves prison, they’re often locked into a level of poverty that’s incredibly hard to escape.

The research shows that poverty is one of the biggest drivers of repeat offenses. So the work JUMP is doing is about creating real pathways out of that cycle. If we’re willing to understand that people are more than the worst moment of their lives and give them another chance, the impact can be profound, not just for individuals, but for whole communities.