Tyler Merritt (b. 1977)Tyler Merritt is an actor, musician, comedian, and activist behind the Tyler Merritt Project. Raised in Las Vegas, he has always had a passion for bringing laughter, grace, and love into any community that he is able to be a part of. For over twenty years now, he has spoken to audiences ranging from elementary school students to nursing home seniors.
His television credits include ABC's Kevin (Probably) Save the World, Netflix's Messiah, Netflix's Outer Banks, HBO's limited series The Outsider, Disney/Marvel's The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Apple TV+'s Swagger.
Tyler's viral videos "Before You Call the Cops" and "Walking While Black" have been viewed by over 60 million people worldwide, with "Before You Call the Cops" voted the number one most powerful video of 2020 by NowThis Politics. It was aired on Jimmy Kimmel Live, MSNBC Live, and Access Hollywood, and lead to Tyler being featured in the Las Vegas Review Journal, The New York Times, MSNBC, Sports Illustrated and the Huffington Post. Prior to "Before You Call The Cops," Tyler was best known for being the face of the worldwide teaching curriculum for The Gospel Project for Kids. His most recent viral video "The Playlist" is also stirring the much needed conversation of how we see and communicate with each other. He is a cancer survivor who lives in Nashville, Tennessee.
Proximity (which breeds empathy) +
Honesty (vulnerable dialogue) +
Value (seeing each other as having inherent worth) +
A Common Goal (seeing that we're all in this together) =
BETTER SOCIETY GUMBO
(I Take My Coffee Black, p. 145)