By Amy Goodman with Denis Moynihan

Hip-hop hit a milestone this week, turning 40 years old. The same week, federal district court Judge Shira Scheindlin, in a 195-page ruling, declared the New York City Police Department's practice of stop-and-frisk unconstitutional. Hip-hop and stop-and-frisk are central aspects of the lives of millions of people, especially black and Latino youths.

Ahmir Thompson was just two years old when hip-hop got its start in 1973, but already had shown his talent for music. Thompson is now known professionally as Questlove, an accomplished musician and producer, music director and drummer for the Grammy Award-winning hip-hop band The Roots, which is the house band on the NBC show "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon." He and The Roots soon will move with Fallon to the even more popular "The Tonight Show."

Despite his success, Questlove confronts racism in his daily life. But he has built a platform, a following, which he uses to challenge the status quo — like stop-and-frisk.

"There's nothing like the first time that a gun is held on you," Questlove told me.

Click to read the rest of the column published at The Guardian.