A big thing for me was that we have to talk about race on the show. These are not just trans characters: All of the girls on our show are black girls — some of them have intersections of being Latina or Hispanic — but they’re all black girls. The ballroom is a black and brown space before it’s a trans and queer space. So you can’t just say we have this great trans and queer show, you have to add in the layer of the race stuff. Those are conversations that I don’t think were as sharp and as centered until I stepped into the room and Steven had a co-conspirator. The conversation shifted because the room was balanced a little bit more. I had to be very clear that a white trans girl’s experience is very different than a black trans girl’s experience — especially a black trans girl that’s struggling with economic resources in 1980s New York City. So we gave Elektra more pointed lines about whiteness, or Angel started calling Stan a white suburban boy. We had to put that stuff in there.Courtesy of FX/Pose It all goes back to my mom, the most incredible woman I’ve ever known. She’s always taught me and my sister, Who are we if we don’t give? Part of my family's from Colombia. So I grew up traveling to Colombia every year and seeing the incredible amount of necessity in the country. When I was 12, my mom took my sister and me to a shelter that took in battered young women. We met a girl whose name was Maria — she was 11 years old and she had just given birth to her stepfather's child. We realized that no matter what we did for the rest of our lives, we have a duty to this girl, and to the world, to give. starring Shawn Mendes. Other featured celebrities include Ariana Grande, Emma Stone,Zayn Malikand the two stars ofThe Vampire Diaries, Though both of the numbers are still less than half of those invited, it is progress. However, women and people of color still represent a very small percentage of the total Academy membership: Before, 25% were female and 8% were people of color, and now with the new class, 27% are female and 11% are people of color. The new members include John Boyega, Idris Elba, Brie Larson, Emma Watson, Michael B. Jordan, andCreed's director Ryan Coogler.