Michael Tubbs

I know, for me, I want to live in a community where people's basic needs are met.

The power to remove an individual from office is reserved for the greatest betrayals of public trust, not just because you disagree with someone.

President Obama is an inspiration of mine, and interning with his administration in the White House opened my eyes to the possibilities of making change at the local level.

The first time I saw my father, he was chained. Gone was the mirage of the invincible man, the man who would protect me once I found him. At the age of 12, I finally saw my father - in an orange jumpsuit, looking weak and vulnerable.

I thought I'd be a low-key producer or something, politics and film at the same time. But also, I'm not a big movie person - my girlfriend gets mad at me because I go to sleep whenever we go to the movies.

I tell people all the time, the status quo is so untenable to me. Like, literally, I have no patience for it.

So much of the world is digital.

In our economic structure, the people who work the hardest oftentimes make the least. I know migrant farm workers who do back-breaking labor every day, or Uber drivers and Lyft drivers who drive 10 to 12 hours a day in traffic. You can't be lazy doing that kind of work.

Work does have some value and some dignity, but I don't think working 14 hours and not being able to pay your bills, or working two jobs and not being able - there's nothing inherently dignified about that.

My father has taught me not to succumb to nihilism, and my mother has taught me the value of hard work and determination.