TIME100 Philanthropy: Lin-Manuel Miranda

TIME

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00:00I was, I never had a chance at another line of work.

00:03My parents listened to show tunes all the time.

00:07And you should also know their first romantic date

00:10was at a protest at the Supreme Court

00:12in support of affirmative action.

00:15So I was always kind of destined to be in this room too.

00:22When other kids had a paper route,

00:24I was in charge of registering voters

00:26up and down Dykeman Street in Upper Manhattan.

00:30We would do toy drives for Three Kings Day.

00:33It's just always been a part of our family's ethos.

00:39And so that's fundamental to everything we do,

00:42from writing in the Heights to Moana to Encanto.

00:47I see diversity as the greatest thing we have

00:51and the greatest thing we export as a country.

00:54It's a prerequisite for me getting to talk to you here tonight.

00:57And so at a time when corporations are running scared of DEI

01:05because of the new administration, we're leaning into that.

01:08We're rushing into that space and reminding folks

01:10that more stories mean better stories,

01:12mean better representation,

01:14mean more fun at the theater or at the movies

01:17because you're seeing something you've never seen before.

01:19When we created the Miranda Family Fund,

01:23we wanted to uplift communities with less access.

01:28And really everything we've done has really been focused

01:30on getting more artists of color

01:34and removing their barriers to entry.

01:37You shouldn't have to spend your 20s writing in the Heights

01:39just to get a seat at the table.

01:42I want to make it a little easier for the folks

01:43behind me and across from me.

01:47And it's happened very organically

01:49from partnerships with the Telsey office

01:51to make sure that the people casting the shows

01:54look like the people in the shows

01:55to co-creating with Maestro Music the Rise directory

02:00and removing the lie that there aren't talented artists

02:03and technicians of color in every part of our theater industry.

02:09We're looking to just get more and more seats at the table.

02:13We have something called the Miranda Family Fellowship

02:15and we provide scholarships, professional training,

02:18mentorship opportunities, and full-time paid fellowships.

02:22Most of the time, the folks who can afford

02:24to get into the theater business

02:25can afford that free internship that turns into a paid job.

02:29We pay those internships for artists of color

02:31so that they can also have seats at the table.

02:37And at a time when immigrants are being vilified

02:41more than ever and scapegoated

02:43for all the ills of the world.

02:45I didn't mean it as an applause line,

02:47but it gets the biggest applause in our show,

02:50Hamilton, which is celebrating its 10th year.

02:53Immigrants, we get the job done.

02:55Your Chilean sea bass is next.

02:56Thank you for having me.

02:57It's an honor to be in this room with you all.

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