I was honored to be a part of this piece (music, sound effects) in solidarity with the Movement for Black Lives for this piece that came out July 2, 2020. It is building momentum with over 10 million views and an airing on CBS This Morning with Gayle King.

Daveed Diggs demands we ask: ‘What to My People is the Fourth of July?’

‘Hamilton’ Actor Launches Provocative New Video with the Movement for Black Lives

Oakland, CA – Amidst the growing national uprising against police brutality and racist violence, Tony award-winning actor Daveed Diggs (“Hamilton”) is launching a bold new video that asks a simple, provocative question:  what does the Fourth of July mean to Black people in America right now?

Inspired by Frederick Douglass’ historic speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”, Diggs’ new video asks poignant questions and radical truths, naming and reframing America's claim of “liberty and justice for all.” Written by a national collective of Black artists including Emmy Award winner W. Kamau Bell, National Book Award finalist Danez Smith, legendary emcee Pharoahe Monch, and award-winning writers Safia Elhillo, Lauren A. Whitehead, Angel Nafis, Nate Marshall, Idris Goodwin and Camonghne Felix, the video pairs Diggs’ powerful performance with images that juxtapose America’s ideals of freedom with the realities of police violence, economic exploitation, and public health devastation.

The full video “What to My People is the Fourth of July?” will be launched this Thursday, July 2 in the leadup to the national holiday this weekend.

"When I heard that some of my favorite writers were remixing the original Frederick Douglass speech -- a piece that has always meant a lot to me -- and that they would like me to perform it, I jumped at the opportunity,” said Diggs, who is in the public eye this week as “Hamilton” premieres on Disney+ on July 3rd. He also stars as Frederick Douglass himself in the John Brown epic “The Good Lord Bird” this fall on Showtime. “This piece captures the spirit of the original and adds to it the frustration of nearly 170 years of American refusal to value Black life while still expecting Black "citizens" to celebrate America. I'm honored to get to say these words. I hope people hear them. I hope we have contributed something to this very necessary moment of reckoning that maybe helps it last beyond just the moment.” 

“Every year we are asked to celebrate this nation’s independence day, its freedom, and every year we are faced with the irony and cruelty as Black people who have never gotten to partake in that freedom,” says video co-writer Safia Elhillo. “This piece is the product of that mourning and that anger, honoring the original Douglass speech and responding to how little, ultimately, has changed for us since then. Real change comes from the people on the ground, not a government’s empty promises. That’s who I put my faith in – the people.”  

Produced by Offsides Productions and Colehouse Walker Political Outcomes, the project is partnering with the national Movement for Black Lives and amplifying their call to “defend Black lives, fight voter suppression, and defund police.”

“This brilliant artistic offering places the current iteration of the Black liberation struggle in its right historical context, while tapping into our people's power and ability to find hope and harness beauty during each step of our journey to freedom,” says Karissa Lewis, National Field Director for the Movement for Black Lives. “As we continue the fight to defend Black lives and defund the police this Fourth of July and beyond, we invite everybody who watches the video to join this national movement for justice -- because when Black people get free, everybody gets free."