Edward James OLMOS

Social Activism and Education : How We Become One Gang
Monday, March 22, 2010

Edward James OLMOS is an Emmy-winning, Golden Globe-winning and Academy Award-nominated Mexican-American actor. He is best known for his television roles of Admiral William Adama on the Sci Fi Channel television program Battlestar Galactica, Lt. Martin Castillo in Miami Vice, and Jaime Escalante in the film Stand and Deliver (1988).  The film told the true story of Jaime Escalante, a successful computer scientist, who left his career to teach math to underprivileged Hispanic kids from the barrios of East Los Angeles.  Olmos received an Academy Award nomination for his brilliant performance as Escalante, and he convinced several major corporations to sponsor his efforts to place a copy of the film in every school, library, and youth organization across the nation.

Olmos, often becomes involved in social issues, especially those affecting the Hispanic-American community in the United States and in 1998 founded Latino Public Broadcasting, which funds programming for public television that focuses on issues affecting Hispanic-Americans and advocates for diverse perspectives in public television. Olmos makes frequent appearances at juvenile halls and detention centers to speak to teenagers at risk and has also been an international ambassador for UNICEF.