Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1475555
of directors for nonprofits Covenant House and A is For, which focuses on reproductive rights, and she partners with the Human Rights Campaign, Point Foundation and The Trevor Project. But not all of her activism is in the public eye. She tries to help others in her private life, and encourages others to put their passions toward change. "Judith Light said to me early on in my career, 'What's the point of having a platform if you're not going to do something with it?' and I took that very literally. It could be as simple as helping your elderly neighbor with their groceries sometimes, or taking you and a friend to go check your voter registration or ride-sharing to go vote on Election Day. It's not about the big shows of involvement in my opinion; sometimes it's just your day to day. "But use your Googletron," DeBose says, playfully referring to the Google search engine, "and whether it's reproductive rights, homeless youth, helping LGBTQ+ people, or whether it's just human rights in general, you can get involved on a local level." Whether it's as an actor, singer, dancer or as an activist and unionist, it's clear that the name "Ariana DeBose" will be here for quite a while. Which brings the interview to its final question: What's on Ariana's career vision board? "I want the rest of my career to be versatile and expansive, and of service. Not everything I do is going to be about changing the world. Sometimes it will just be a project I take on that will be about challenging myself and proving to myself that I still have the chops and … I am indeed an artist. And sometimes [I'm] going to want to do something that is purely about advocacy. "So, while it's about, yes, having a beautiful, bold, expansive career, it's also about just having a life well lived." • A Conversation with Ariana and Aida A riana DeBose is known for her dancing, singing and acting — but she is also a star interviewer. On June 2, she moderated a special SAG-AFTRA Q&A session featuring fellow member, actor and close friend Aida Rodriguez. The interview was a follow-up to an online member screening of Rodriguez's HBO Max stand-up special Fighting Words. Together, they talked about Rodriguez's approach to her show, which covered topics such as COVID-19, climate change and social justice, as well as her early experiences as a comedian and the ways her identity has inspired her art. "It has been a journey, and it still is a journey. I don't speak about popular things; I try to delve into what's complicated, confrontational and confusing. I want to tackle [subjects] in a way that holds us all accountable, but also creates a path for us to find peace because we all have to find a way to live together," said Rodriguez.