On April 23, something unexpected happened to me. I woke up that morning to fly to Boston for a screening and panel discussion about my new documentary, Stranger Fruit, at Harvard’s prestigious Institute of Politics.

In the years following the death of her son Michael Brown at the hands of Ferguson, Mo., police, Lezley McSpadden has completed her high school diploma, written a book, campaigned for social justice and joined Hillary Clinton on her 2016 bid for the presidency.