By Erin Oliveri

Most students know actor Danny Glover from his role as Roger Murtagh in the “Lethal Weapon” series. What many don’t know is that he is also a philanthropist and chair of the TransAfrica forum.

Glover spoke about his commitment to the African-American human rights organization TransAfrica forum and work in Haiti at Blackman Auditorium Monday night. The talk was sponsored by the Haitian Student Union (HSU) and facilitated by Alan West-Duran, professor and director of Latino, Latin American and Caribbean studies.

Before Glover and Duran took the stage, a short presentation was played on the projection screen showing clips from Glover’s acting career. “The Royal Tennenbaums,” “The Color Purple” and “Lethal Weapon” were among the movies highlighted.

Glover discussed his work with TransAfrica, which he called “an organization that focuses on US policy toward Africa and diaspora.” He continued to speak about the forum’s work and its role as the voice of African-Americans on foreign policy.

Glover also talked about poor working conditions for African-Americans, dating back to the early 1900s, when cotton picking was prominent. He constantly reiterated the notion of “deindustrialization” in urban areas.

“For 50 years, African-American unemployment has been in double digits,” Glover said.

Following the Africa-centered discussion, Duran asked Glover about his work in Haiti. Glover discussed the Haitian Revolution and said it was the only successful slave revolt in history and it resulted in the formation of a nation. Glover said he was inspired by this, and said he first became aware of it after reading the C.L.R. James book “The Black Jacobins.”

“I had not known about the Haitian Revolution until then,” Glover said. “I became obsessed with knowing who these Haitian people were.”

Coinciding with talk of the revolution, Glover discussed his upcoming film project dealing with Toussaint L’Ouverture. He joked that he had many doors shut in his face during the process of creating the film and that pursuing filmmaking requires passion. He said he felt this way toward the Haitian Revolution and kept pursuing his goal.

“The greatest response to injustice is resistance to that injustice,” Glover said in reference to the revolution.

The HSU previously tried to bring Glover to Northeastern, but was unable to reserve a large enough venue for the event, said HSU President Carline Bernard. She said Glover should be extolled not just for his acting career.

“Danny Glover is more than a well-known actor-he ought to be commended for his dedication to community activism and philanthropic efforts,” Bernard said in an e-mail to The News.

David Coleman, a sophomore international affairs major, said he went to see Glover because of his acting career and said he enjoyed several parts of the speech.

“I liked when he brought up the fact that a lot of people don’t know about the Haitian Revolution,” Coleman said.

Coleman was one of several people who asked questions when Glover opened the floor.

Near the end of the Q’A, one student asked what students can do to enact change, like with the diaspora.

“You have to see yourself as a part of this,” Glover said. “We have to think big.”