“Although my mom and I had often disagreed politically and personally, she'd led our family by example, instilling in us a can-do attitude that often defied reason - an optimism many would call foolish, ignorant, and naive, but an optimism that occasionally shocked our neighbors and our world with its brazen veracity.”

American screenwriter, director, producer, and LGBTQ rights activist

Dustin Lance Black is an American screenwriter, director, producer, and LGBTQ rights activist. He is known for writing and producing the film Milk, and he won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 2009. His work also includes the screenplays for J. Edgar and Rustin, and he created the 2022 true crime limited series Under the Banner of Heaven. Across his career, he is closely associated with film and television projects that combine biography, history, and social issues.