Hoops, Hopes, and the Hard Work of Love

On Michael Latt and Glenn Kaino's new film Hoops, Hopes & Dreams

A few weeks ago - as has happened pretty frequently over the last two years, especially this year as vulnerable communities find themselves even more vulnerable to the whims and outright attacks of the current administration and its various attachés - I found myself thinking about my friend Michael Latt, who was murdered just over two years ago on November 27, 2023.

Michael was the best of us. Someone who believed fundamentally that community was important for its own sake, that culture can change the world, that - if this was true - undersupported artists in particular deserved particular support. He was someone who did the altogether unglamorous work of building that community and supporting those artists without ever expecting praise or favor or anything in return.

Over the last two years, a hilariously frequent conversation amongst those of us who knew him has been a shared early disbelief that he could possibly be real. Upon first meeting him, we all had had the same thought: “Who is this white boy who is saying and doing all of the right things in the right way? What’s his angle? There’s gotta be an angle?!”

But there he was, time and time and time again. Saying the right things, but more importantly, doing the right things. Without fail. Never ever making it about himself, and always, always leading with love. “Lead with Love” ultimately became the name of his company, something everyone told him was too soft for a company name. Michael didn’t care. That was what he was doing: Leading with Love. He didn’t need to prove anything to anyone with a company name.

I miss him.

As happens with the universe, right around the time I was most recently thinking of Michael, I was sent the video of a conversation that I had with artist and filmmaker Glenn Kaino about his short documentary Hoops, Hopes & Dreams, which also happened to be the last project Michael produced before he was killed.

It’s the story of the line from Dr. King and the civil rights movement’s use of basketball courts to reach young voters to the Obama campaign and the role the game played in organizing a new generation. It’s a reminder that culture has always been infrastructure for democracy and that something as simple as a pickup game can become a vehicle for power, belonging, and change. It was very much a Michael Latt type thing.

I asked for permission to share the video of that conversation here and Glenn and the rest of the HH&D team were kind of enough to say yes.

The film premiered at Sundance in 2025 and has screened at a slew of festivals since then. It will premiere on Hulu on January 19, 2026, under the Andscape Films banner. You should watch it.

You should also take a moment to learn about - and if you’re able, support - the Michael Latt Legacy Fund, which carries on his work by investing in artists who lead with love and believe, as Michael did, that culture and community are revolutionary acts.

Here’s my conversation with Glenn Kaino.

Enjoy: