Leslie Odom Jr. took his final bow as a cast member of the hit Broadway musical “Hamilton” Saturday night but not before using his spotlight to encourage “a real and lasting spiritual awakening amongst us.”
The Tony award-winning star dedicated his last performance to the victims of the past months’ gun violence in a series of tweets that included the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter.
Odom called out two black men who were shot dead by police last week. Alton Sterling, 37, was killed in Baton Rouge outside a convenience store where he was selling CDs; 32-year-old Philando Castile was fatally shot during a traffic stop in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Their killings have sparked renewed protests and conversations about racial violence, with Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton saying Castile’s skin color played a major part.
Odom also memorialized the five Dallas officers who were killed by a gunman police say was targeting white people in retribution for previous violence. He also mentioned the horrific attack on a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida which took place nearly one month ago and marked the deadliest mass shooting in recent U.S. history.