I try to find hope in struggle and resistance in small places as much as I can.

What's more important is that we talk about movements; change happens through movements. The movement to end slavery, the movement to bring justice for those who have been left out of the system, movements to include women, movements around sexual preference - all these movements brought about change.

One of the main purveyors of violence in this world has been this country America.

I've always been able to make choices that don't embarrass me.

The exceptionalism of a black U.S. President is not important to me. It's what he does - and who he has at the table.

There is a lack of leadership outside the Beltway, outside of politics.

There are things that make me excited about what I'm doing: Trouble the Water [the 2008 documentary Glover executive produced] on New Orleans, or something like Soundtrack for a Revolution, about the power of the music of the civil rights movement [which he executive produced in 2009]. Or Bamako, about the African debt crisis, a platform to discuss the experience of people who actually live it. All of these are important ways we can use film as a forum inviting people into a dialogue.