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He portrayed one of the greatest advocates for equality in history when he took on the role of Martin Luther King Jr. in the 2014 flick Selma. Now, actor David Oyelowo is continuing to do his part off screen to push for equality amid the Black Lives Matter movement.
The 44-year-old star, whose activism and acting have gained him fans like Brad Pitt, has kicked off a special podcast as part of his focus on helping educate the next generation on racial equality.
“[We’re] trying to get our children to think beyond themselves,” Oyelowo told Kevin Frazier during a Zoom interview. “A lack of education breeds the ignorance that perpetuates the cycle, and so educating them, opening their eyes, getting them out of the house, getting them out into the world … that is the key.”
Oyelowo, 44, is doing just that through his podcast, STOR14S, where children’s stories are narrated to inspire families and help raise money for the GEANCO Foundation. The organization is aiding coronavirus relief efforts in Nigeria.
“I gathered some friends and we’re reading these stories,” he says. “Our fees are going to be donated to this cause, providing sanitation, hand sanitizers, masks, disinfectants.”
A father of four himself, Oyelowo said his greatest Father’s Day wish was to “create a better world for our babies.”
When he’s not helping do so, he has his kids to keep him busy. Oyelowo’s dad, Stephen, is also isolating with him amid the coronavirus pandemic.
And that means having the tidiest garden on the block! Oyelowo explains that he gifted Stephen a golf cart for Father’s Day to support his love for leaf-blowing.
“Those who know my dad — he famously has the leaf blower on Instagram,” Oyelowo says. “He’s getting up there in years. So, I did get him a golf cart so he can get to those leaves as quickly as he can.”
“He’s bumming around the property on his golf cart,” he added. “He is obsessed with leaf blowing and yard work and since the quarantine, his world has shrunk and he’s out there every day.”
