I can’t even remember what year it was, maybe 2004 or 2005, but I ended up sitting next to DMX at a small lunch at a fancy hotel in Philly.

I was in town filming a documentary, and I have no idea why DMX was there, but he showed up at this table I was sitting at and joined us. I’d never met DMX before, but for whatever reason he decided to tell me his whole life story during this lunch. From his childhood in Yonkers to the group home he was sent to as a teenager to the dogs he’d hang out with at night to becoming a rap megastar, he told me everything.

On March 8, 2015, one day after the 50th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” John Lewis asked me to take his picture at the foot of The Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama.

A short story. In 2015, for the 50th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” I was invited by The White House to join the gathering in Selma to commemorate this historic event.

I was humbled to be invited and there was no way I was going to miss being there in person. I flew to Alabama.

While so many of you are opening your hearts + donating to support the #BlackLivesMatter movement, I'd love to suggest also supporting organizations led by black formerly incarcerated people + children of the incarcerated.

Here's a short list of some incredible orgs to give to: Forward Justice (@forward_justice) is a nonpartisan law, policy, and strategy center dedicated to advancing racial, social, and economic justice in the U.S. South.

Change the South. Change the nation.

Donate: forwardjustice.org/donate/

A thread about my past two days.

I spent the past 48 hours reading through 2800+ applications from artists + activists from around the world whose work has been impacted by COVID-19. I've cried numerous times reading the desperation that so many in our community have right now. Not knowing how they will pay rent. Pay a light bill. Pay for food for their kids’ dinner tomorrow night. Jobs have come to a complete halt. Productions canceled. Commissions canceled. Teaching gigs postponed. Tours canceled. Speaking engagements canceled. Side hustles gone.

2 trillion dollars to fund the war machine and the minimum wage is still $7.25 2 trillion dollars to fund the war machine and there are 552,000+ homeless people in America.

This Biden ad will do 10m+ views on twitter tonight.

Pro tip: Campaigns should stop buying TV time and start spending heavily on powerful digital ads, hard hitting, no bullshit rapid response (counter-punch) and build a cultural narrative against Trump.

While data, polling + policy are critical, we’re in a culture war. And Trump fights it everyday. He knows this game. This how he has built his whole career + his campaign. He buys millions worth of digital ads, using data, but more importantly, culture. Duck Dynasty. NRA. Kanye.

This week, I learned of the passing of a young man I mentored when he was a kid.

Edgar Barboza, from East LA, was part of a theater program I co-founded while I was a student at UCLA back in 1999.

He was twelve when I first met him and immediately I knew I would like this kid. In 2000, our program did the first ever theater exchange between the US and Cuba, bringing 12 American kids to Cuba for a month to live and collaborate with 12 Cuban kids. Edgar was one of them.

Nervous. A mama's boy, he didn't know if he could handle a month away from home.

Trump is very comfortable creating a culture war in America.

Telling black NFL players to leave the country. Calling undocumented immigrants “animals.” Banning Muslims from the US. Attacking Chicago for gun violence.

He knows that fear + division feeds his base of white voters. Trump’s never cared about policy. His entire career he’s used culture to build his divisive, bigoted platform he is now enforcing in America. From the Central Park 5 to Obama’s birth certificate, before he stepped foot in the Oval Office, he was using culture to build his power.

Last night was an historic night for America.

Let's celebrate the history makers!

A thread.

(h/t @Phil_Lewis_) Danica Roem became the FIRST transgender state lawmaker in the United States, when she unseated Virginia Del. Bob Marshall, the Republican who introduced the “bathroom bill” that would have prohibited transgender students from using the bathroom of their choice.

I want to talk about the enormous impact that @HillaryClinton had on my four year old, Mateo Ali. It began one night in Philadelphia... The final weekend before the election, we took Mateo Ali to Philly to knock on doors, hoping to convince a few more people to vote for HRC.