“If we talk about literacy, we have to talk about how to enhance our children’s mastery over the tools needed to live intelligent, creative, and involved lives.” ~ Danny Glover

If you’ve seen The Color Purple, Lethal Weapon, or Places in the Heart, you’ve seen Danny Glover in action. He was born on July 22, 1946, in San Francisco, California. His parents were activists, and he has been involved in many causes, including the education of children with learning differences. Glover is a man of many talents.

Back when he was a child in the 1950s, he had trouble reading. That is why he is so passionate about speaking out to children with learning differences and their parents. He wants to help them understand what they are going through and how they can improve.

He talked about how he has dyslexia. For him, it means that he sees words “flipped.” It is still a struggle for him to read, so he always carries a backpack filled with books and other materials with him wherever he goes.

Back then, people didn’t understand what made intelligent children have difficulty reading and interpreting letters or symbols. So he was not identified as dyslexic at the time and didn’t get the help he needed. He discovered he is dyslexic when he was 30.

He said that dyslexia made him feel like he was not good enough to learn. He also said that it was hard for him to get past his feeling of being diminished. When he was in seventh grade, his counselor told his mother that he was retarded.

Despite his challenges, he made it to college and met people with different perspectives. However, he never completed a formal degree. Later on in life, when he got into acting in his late 20s, he trained at the Black Actors’ Workshop of the American Conservatory Theatre and developed strategies to memorize his lines.

Danny Glover has been a stage actor, screen actor, voice actor, director, and activist. He has starred in over 70 Hollywood films. He has also acted in over 200 roles. Glover is passionate about helping others, which is why the United Nations made him their first Goodwill Ambassador.

When interviewed by Linsey Davis of ABC Newsline for their National Treasure Series, he told her what he wants his legacy to be – He tried to be the best citizen he could be.