Tyler James Williams on Using His Platform to ‘Affect Change’ — and How ‘Abbott Elementary’ Plays a Part

Tyler James Williams takes his position as a role model very seriously.

The actor, 30, is joining forces with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation this summer. Together, they will help elevate firsthand accounts of early child care and education advocates, the challenges they face and share their efforts to provide equitable learning and development opportunities for children across the country.

Taking on such a feat is of great importance to the Abbott Elementary actor, as he hopes to play a greater part in implementing change for society.

“For me, this is where the art meets the action. I don’t believe in just making art just for art’s sake. I believe that it should probably move the conversation forward culturally in some way,” he told PEOPLE exclusively at this year’s Essence Festival of Culture, occurring in New Orleans through Monday. “So whenever I work on something, I’m looking for a way to affect change.”

“This feels like a perfect partnership because I think one of the things that we touch on in the show a lot is the inequity that you see with particularly public schools and with children of color and diversity,” he added.

Williams’ role as Gregory Eddie on ABC’s Abbott Elementary has aided in informing and making him aware of the plight of educators, especially those in underserved communities. “It was something that I didn’t think about at all and now it’s something that I think about constantly … So as it comes up, my job and my opportunity that I have is to use my platform to push the conversation forward,” he explained.

The Everybody Hates Chris alum is clearly no stranger to speaking about what he believes in. After years of staying mum about speculation surrounding his sexuality, he recently wrote a string of poignant Instagram posts, highlighting how dangerous and disparaging that type of dialogue can be. The post immediately went viral, with Williams earning praise for his candor surrounding the subject.

For Tyler, that post was, of course, about supporting his LGBTQ peers. But it was also about taking his story back.

“I feel like one of the things that a lot of Black men in America have suffered from is the inability to craft their own narrative and to be role models for each other. And I think it’s really important that we counter that narrative as much as possible,” he said. “It’s one of the reasons why I want to be as vocal as I am, as continuously as I can be because we have to show another way.”

“That post started off as something that none of us thought would go as big as it did,” he continued. “But what I think was a really big benefit of that is that it shows that there’s another option, There’s another way. And hopefully, that’s what this campaign can do as well.”

While Williams plans on lending his voice and doing good this summer, there is still the question of when Abbott Elementary will return to the small screen, given the fact that the show has been impacted by the ongoing writers’ strike.

“I think our writers’ room has been very active in the strike. We’ve been talking about this since before we wrapped up season two, so we were very prepared. Brittani Nichols, who’s in our writers’ room, is a strike captain on the line,” he said. “So we stand behind them a hundred percent, completely.”

Williams added, “We’re in a place and position in our success where we know that whenever this is rectified, we will be back. But by no means are we in any rush for that to be the case. The writers need to get what the writers need to get. And until they do, we will stand behind them and we’ll be waiting.”

To support the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and its efforts, visit wkkf.org as well as everychildthrives.com.

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