(dramatic electronic music) - [Leader] What do we want?

- [Crowd] Funding!

- [Leader] When do we want it?

- [Crowd] Now!

- [Leader] What do we want?

- [Crowd] Funding!

- [Leader] When do we want it?

- [Crowd] Now!

(crowd chanting) Black lives matter.

- [Speaker] Ooh, activism.

- [Crowd] No hate!

No fear!

Nazis are not welcome here!

- The classic picture we all think of when someone says "activist", is someone out marching with signs.

- It's important that we keep finding ways to assert action, behavior, in order to have a sense of control.

- I believe that my voice, along with everybody else's voice, can, does, and will continue to make a difference.

- So when people were racist towards me, my response was to fight.

I couldn't just sit back and see the things that I was seeing and not do anything.

(tense orchestral music) - 37 years ago, I decided that maybe I could do something about the prevalence of child abuse in families.

- I didn't like the way African Americans were being treated, the way women were being treated.

The restrictions society put on you in different frameworks of life.

All of these things eventually came together for me, and said, "You should not only speak up for yourself.

"You should speak up for others."

(tense orchestral music continues) - When I moved to Monroeville and Gateway High School, I came into a predominantly white environment, and I faced racism, like in your face...

It was the first time I was called, "nigger" to my face.

For my mother, education was everything.

So getting suspended meant that could go on my permanent record, and that could affect the... My mother forbid me to fight.

And so we formed a Black club.

We got the school to teach a Black history class.

And so that was my introduction to, okay, I can't physically fight anybody so this is how I'm gonna fight back.

I'm gonna try to create a more equitable place, for not only the Black students that were at Gateway at that time, but those that came after me.

- When the Supreme Court overturned Roe versus Wade, when that decision was first leaked, I was shocked and confused.

I had thought abortion rights were solid and this wasn't a thing that I needed to worry about.

But what that did was put everything back to the states to decide.

And, as someone who's fairly new to Pennsylvania I had no idea how the Pennsylvania state government worked, who my state legislators were, and what the state of abortion rights in Pennsylvania were, if it was no longer a constitutional right.

(rhythmic hip hop music) (crowd chanting) - You're an activist, you're being active, right?

I think an organizer is somebody that actually begins to bring, mobilize people, around particular ideas, around maybe changing particular policies.

Antoine's face is right there for the world to see!

I would consider myself both.

(crowd shouting) - I led a non-profit organization called Family Resources.

I was able to lead the local child welfare agency and tried in those ways to make a difference around children being injured in families.

And today, the foundation work that I do is very centered around this issue.

- Back in 1980, as I started working for the Urban League Movement, I saw more and more opportunity to grow.

I could influence individuals, families, communities, organizations.

- 1Hood is involved in a lot of causes.

We're artists, so art is kind of the basis and foundation of 1Hood, but we use our art to speak to issues of social justice.

- [Speaker] Stop killing us, stop killing us, killing us.

(gentle instrumental music) - We just launched a website last year, called Blackpittsburgh.com, where it's a platform for us, as Black people, to tell our own stories.

We're involved in policy and advocacy.

Ultimately, we want to see Pittsburgh be a place that's livable for everybody, and not just a select few.

- I am the founder of Choice Tracker.

Choicetracker.org is a website that allows anyone in Pennsylvania to enter their address, and find their state representatives and their state senators, and better understand where those people stand on abortion rights.

And it encourages them to get involved by calling their legislators or voting.

That affects everyone, but it can affect certain populations much more deeply.

People who have money can travel to the places that they need to go.

And so for people who do not have as much wealth, often Black and Brown communities, that can be quite difficult for them to actually get the healthcare they need.

- Every human being has time to do a tiny bit of advocacy.

It doesn't have to overwhelm your life.

- Some people are activists, in the street demonstrating.

Some people are more quiet about their activism.

- Most of my work is happening from my couch, (laughs) behind a computer screen.

- I'm not always protesting or demonstrating.

I mean, I think I am in the public spaces trying to change public policy.

- And no you don't win every time.

But that just means you need a new strategy for that particular effort.

- I do think that everyone who's an activist may not be doing things that advances humanity.

There are lots of people that may in fact use activism and promote aggression and violence, and actually do things to harm others.

(gentle electronic music) So activism in itself is generally a good thing, but it also can be a not very good thing for humanity.

I think the kind of activism I'm talking about is the kind of activism that is awakened when we get a sense of purpose and direction.

- When I think about activism and people getting involved, I always encourage people to get involved through what they love to do, right?

So I love hip hop.

Like my activism comes through the lens of hip hop.

(rapping) They poor and they wipe they mouth, the last gas of a world that is dying out.

- We're living right now in a time where my phone is blowing up with bad news constantly.

And I think for the last two years it's led to me just feeling very hopeless.

Now that I have something to channel that into, I feel so much less hopeless.

- Oftentimes, my art is my therapy.

So I've written songs around police brutality.

One of the most well-known was a song about Trayvon.

(gentle instrumental music) I cried writing it, but that anger and emotion I was able to let out into a song, that then became a song that helped to get people around the world to know about Trayvon.

- [Crowd] Justice for Trayvon Martin!

Justice for Trayvon Martin!

Justice for Trayvon Martin!

(rhythmic hip hop music) - It has been really surprising, how much doing something, trying to fix this tiny piece of the puzzle has helped everything feel a little bit better.

- I discovered and decided that I need to have a real long term direction to my life, to my work, and decided that the work I can do to try to make a difference in the area of child abuse, I would spend the rest of my life doing.

So it provides for me, daily, a sense of meaning, purpose, direction.

- Oftentimes, being angry is that first step.

So I think like when you are angry and upset, to go get involved, to go to a rally to go to a protest.

It becomes a release.

Not only do you, you know, express your anger and frustration, but you also meet like-minded people.

You might build with some people and you might then decide, "Okay, what's next?"

(rhythmic instrumental music) - It gives us a sense of belonging.

It gives our lives a sense of direction and importance, and all of those things, I think help in our emotional wellbeing.

- You can actually influence anything and everything that you care about or that you're a part of, and see results, which makes your mindset change and turns you into a believer that you can make positive impact.

- Three minutes before you die, as you look back over your life, what are those one or two things you wish you could have at least made an effort at making better in the world?

What's important is that I'm trying to make a difference, not just because something's important to me, but try to make humanity a little bit better.

(uplifting instrumental music) (uplifting instrumental music continues)