Tag: Black Voices

Ben Carson, the new secretary of housing and urban development, portrayed enslaved Africans as immigrants during a speech to the agency’s employees on Monday.

Yes, he called people who were enslaved “immigrants.” No, this isn’t a joke.

“That’s what America is about,” Carson said. “A land of dreams and opportunity. There were other immigrants who came here in the bottom of slave ships, worked even longer, even harder for less. But they too had a dream that one day their sons, daughters, grandsons, granddaughters, great grandsons, great granddaughters might pursue prosperity and happiness in this land.”

Sure, enslaved Africans had dreams of “prosperity and happiness” ― and freedom ― but Carson’s quote makes it seem as though they came to America to provide their children with a level of well-being they otherwise couldn’t give them.

Enslaved Africans had no choice in coming to the U.S. or deciding how they would lead their lives once they arrived (in other places, like this Vox article mapping America’s history of immigration, enslavement is falsely categorized as “forced migration”). They were kidnapped, transported to America under deplorable conditions, sold like livestock and placed on plantations to work grueling hours for nothing in return. They were routinely beaten, killed, raped and tortured by slave masters and their families. Their attempts to escape or rebel were violently thwarted and, if enslaved Africans were able to obtain freedom, they still lived their lives as a second-class citizens.

Carson’s choice of words romanticizes the horrors of African enslavement and the subsequent struggles black Americans faced. Slavery’s legacy in the U.S. led to generations of black people being lynched, disenfranchised and barred from attaining the political, social and economic capital held by their white peers.

Aside from being nonsensical, Carson’s comment plays into the bigger problem of glossing over the history of people of color in America by painting the U.S. as a thriving “nation of immigrants” ― as Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, an activist and author, pointed out for Monthly Review Zine in 2006.

“Misrepresenting the process of European colonization of North America, making everyone an immigrant, serves to preserve the ‘official story’ of a mostly benign and benevolent USA, and to mask the fact that the pre-U.S. independence settlers, were, well, settlers ― colonial settlers, just as they were in Africa and India, or the Spanish in Central and South America,” she wrote.

“So, let’s stop saying ‘this is a nation of immigrants.’”

Yes, let’s ― so I can stop writing articles about something as simple as enslavement not being a choice. 

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

It was never really about the emails.

Remember the private email server and account that Hillary Clinton used to conduct official State Department business during her tenure as Secretary of State? Of course you do! It was the subject of months of Congressional investigations, numerous tweets from Donald Trump, front page headlines, and calls to “lock her up!” “But her emails” became a widely-circulated meme.

So, what happened when it came out that Vice President Mike Pence used a private email account to conduct government business ― and was hacked ― during his time as governor of Indiana? Predictably, a whole lot of nothing.

“There’s no comparison whatsoever,” Pence told CNN last Friday, when questioned about the parallels between his personal email account and Clinton’s. (Pence had previously praised the FBI on more than one occasion for investigating Clinton.)

No one is arguing that Pence should be taken down for sending emails about government business on his AOL account ― after all, neither Clinton nor Pence have been found engaging in any criminal activity. 

And these two incidents were not exactly the same. One could say that using a private email account as Secretary of State ― especially given that the State Department explicitly discourages the use of personal email accounts ― meant that Clinton’s email account became a big red flag, and therefore became a national issue during her presidential campaign.

But looking at the two cases side by side, it’s impossible not to take note of the disparate reactions and wonder the cause.

In October, a poll from Public Policy Polling found that 84 percent of Trump supporters believed that Clinton should be sent to prison, while 40 percent believed she was “an actual demon.” Yet just three short months later, a poll from the same polling company found that 42 percent of Trump supporters believed that President Trump should be allowed to have a private email server.

And when it was reported in January that Trump senior advisers Kellyanne Conway, Steve Bannon, Sean Spicer and Jared Kushner were using email accounts through a private RNC email system, it was a virtual non-issue.

The headlines have faded, the investigations turned up nothing, and Clinton is not “locked up” ― she’s attending Broadway shows and hiking in Chappaqua. But the “email (non) scandal” remains a potent symbol of people’s worst instincts about Clinton. She’s untrustworthy. She’s conniving. She’s power-hungry. She’s a liar. She’s corrupt. She thinks she’s “above the law.”

In 1693, the people of Salem had witches to channel their rage and distrust of women towards. In 2016, Americans had Hillary Clinton.  

The outsize vitriol that exploded in reaction to Clinton’s private email server was always more of a symptom than a cause. Before the FBI began looking into her emails, Clinton had weathered decades of criticism ― much of it gendered. Her facial expressions, hairstyles, makeup (or lack thereof), and her last name were always considered fair game. She was both told her success was thanks to her husband, and simultaneously taken to task for her husband’s moral and political failings. When she held a job, she was loved. When she asked for a job, she was hated.

So by the time the email “scandal” erupted, the public was already primed to look at Clinton with a base level of distrust and disdain. Many on the right (and some on the far left) already wanted to “lock her up.” The emails simply gave them a tangible reason to chant about it in public spaces.

On the day that the story about Pence’s email broke, Clinton and her longtime advisor Huma Abedin were on a plane. A fellow passenger snapped a photo of her, later realizing that in that moment Clinton was reading the front page of USA Today, which bore the headline, “Pence Used Personal Email In Office.”

That is the face of a woman who has been held accountable many times over for her mistakes while her male contemporaries are consistently given the benefit of the doubt, skating by on the promise of their innate worthiness.

“But her emails” allowed thousands to justify a burning hatred for one rather conventional female politician. But his emails? They’re already forgotten.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Essence entertainment director Cori Murray stopped by the HuffPost Black Voices’ biweekly talk show “BV Breakdown” ― a Facebook Live show that discusses hot topics, current events and self-care tips ― on Thursday to share her thoughts on who’s on the up and up in Hollywood. 

Black Voices’ associate editor Taryn Finley and senior culture writer Zeba Blay sat down with Murray, who was also joined by Buzzfeed entertainment reporter Sylvia Obell, to share her perspective as an entertainment insider.

Here are five women Murray said should be on your list of Hollywood up-and-comers to watch in 2017:

1. Gina Prince-Bythewood

Best known for her 2000 romance film “Love and Basketball,” starring Sanaa Lathan, Gina Prince-Bythewood is no Hollywood newbie. Prince-Bythewood will be directing the upcoming fictional Fox series “Shots Fired,” which is centered on police brutality in South Carolina. Lathan will also star in the series. 

2. Dee Rees

In a $12.5 million deal, Netflix recently bought director Dee Rees’ critically acclaimed film “Mudbound.” The film, which follows soldiers returning home from WWII, stars Carey Mulligan, Jason Mitchell and Mary J. Blige.

3. Stella Meghie

Stella Meghie’s name may not ring a bell just yet, but the Toronto native may soon be at the center of Hollywood’s attention when romance film “Everything, Everything,” starring Amandla Stenberg, is released this May.

4. Jessica Williams

Former “Daily Show” correspondent Jessica Williams should have been on your radar yesterday. One half of the “2 Dope Queens” podcast, Williams will be starring in Netflix’s “The Incredible Jessica James,” about a young playwright living in New York City. 

5. Yvonne Orji

Yvonne Orji is everybody’s bestie as Molly in “Insecure.” But Orji really won our hearts with her realness when she opened up to “The Breakfast Club” in November about being a virgin at 32 years old and having experienced bullying when she was younger. 

Look out, Hollywood. All this black excellence ain’t here to play. 

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices

A pair of siblings in Southern California used their school’s “Dr. Seuss Week” celebration as an opportunity to educate their fellow students on the author’s problematic past.

Last week, a South Pasadena elementary school celebrated “Dr. Seuss Week” in conjunction with Read Across America Day, which takes place annually on the author’s birthday. Two students, 11-year-old Rockett and 10-year-old Zoe, were upset to learn that their classmates didn’t seem to know about the racist streak in the cartoonist’s early work.

Before he rose to fame with his children’s books, Dr. Seuss (born Theodor Seuss Geisel) drew a number of political cartoons during World War II. Many of these drawings featured racist portrayals of Japanese citizens and Japanese Americans. The cartoons ranged from stereotypical caricatures to fear-inducing propaganda that vilified people of Japanese descent and justified their internment.

Rockett’s and Zoe’s dad, Steve Wong, is the curator at the Chinese American Museum in Los Angeles and also teaches Asian American History as an adjunct professor at Pasadena City College.

“Early on, my wife and I have instilled in them to have a strong moral compass and sense of justice,” Steve told The Huffington Post.

Aware of Dr. Seuss’ complicated past, Steve and his wife Leslie read the author’s famous books to Zoe and Rockett. “I still remember trying to read Hop on Pop to my to kids as an exhausted father and falling asleep while reading it to them,” he recalled.

About two years ago, Leslie taught their kids about Dr. Seuss’ racist cartoons and role in swaying public opinion of the incarceration of Japanese Americans.

Knowing this piece of history, Zoe and Rockett decided to share the information about the ionic author’s past with their classmates during Dr. Seuss Week. Together, they created informational fliers to pass out at school.

When Zoe distributed the fliers to her classmates, she received mixed reactions. “Most people agreed that his cartoons were wrong and racist,” she told HuffPost. “Most people didn’t know this and thought it was very interesting, while some people did know but still liked it.”

Some students accused Zoe of spreading a fake rumor, tore up the fliers in front of her and told their teacher, who instructed her to stop passing them out.

Rockett said his teacher confiscated his fliers, “raised her voice” in disapproval and reported the incident to the principal. “I only got to hand out one because my teacher took them away, but that one person said it was interesting.”

Added Steve, “Rockett was mad that he was censored, but ultimately he was ‘whatever’ about the whole ordeal.” Zoe had a more emotional experience.

”Zoe’s teacher ‘neutrally’ told her to stop passing out the fliers, and that the request came from the principal after being notified by Rockett’s teacher,” Steve explained. “Knowing the principal was involved, Zoe was fearful the following days that she was going to get into trouble at school for her actions, and told her mom that she cried several times the first day.”

Zoe told HuffPost she wasn’t surprised some people had negative reactions but was “shocked” to learn the flier had spread to the principal and that she had caused such a problem for the teachers. “It wounded me more when friends told me that multiple girls told on me,” she said.

Still, the little girl found comfort in the friends that supported her. “People who truly agreed helped me be brave for getting in trouble and pushed me to go farther with the fliers,” she recalled.

Following the incident, Steve claimed that Rockett’s teacher sent the following email to him and his wife:

Hello Mr. and Mrs. Wong,

This morning, Rockett came to school with a stack of flyers to hand out regarding Dr. Suess. While he is absolutely entitled to his own thoughts and opinions, school is not the appropriate place for him to hand these flyers out. I am going to send them home with him today after school. I do applaud his civic mindedness.

The dad said he wrote this lengthy response:

I do want to begin my response to your email, and our children’s actions of creating the flyer, by stating that we appreciate the non-racist work of Dr. Seuss. We have a collection of his books in home and we read many on them often to our kids when they were younger. A couple of years ago, we wanted to balance our love for Seuss Geisel’s creativity by exposing our children to the darker side of his early racist works. So while we still respect his art, our family understands that Seuss Geisel, like many others we hold in high esteem, can indeed have a sordid past. Rockett wanted a way to express this to his classmates, and we gave him and his sister the okay to create something to achieve this goal of educating people about Geisel’s past racism. They came up with the flyer on their own without much oversight on my own. Nonetheless, Leslie and I approved what they were doing and are ultimately the ones to be held accountable.

Rockett and Zoe’s great-grandmother and great-grandfather who are still with us today, along with 120,000 innocent others (most of them American citizens), were forcibly removed from their homes and sent to U.S. concentration camps due to lack of leadership, rampant racism, and war hysteria. There was no basis or evidence of Japanese Americans involved in any espionage, and the U.S. has since apologized for the unconstitutional act against its own American citizens. However it is important to understand that Seuss Geisel, helped fuel that racism and war hysteria with many racist cartoons that he published during that time. His cartoons targeting Japanese Americans directly contributed to the public support of Executive Order 9066 (the executive order that incarcerated Japanese Americans). This is not an opinion, much like Hitler’s anti-Semitism is not an opinion, for Geisel’s hatred of Japanese is well documented, and is chronicled in American history books. Unfortunately our family has had a direct impact and has suffered directly from Geisel’s cartoons.

We understand it is in your opinion that school is not for this type of “educational” encounter that Rockett attempted to present today. Perhaps trying to educate his fellow classmates with a flyer may have been a little unconventional and has placed you in an uncomfortable position. We respect your opinion and authority of what is deemed appropriate in your classroom, much as I would expect the same in my classroom, and will of course defer to you about what is appropriate. However I do have to say I disagree in principal with your standpoint that “school” is not the appropriate place to disseminate new, or differing ideas. America’s educational intuitions should pride themselves as space for critical thought, as an environment to think outside the box, as an instution to understand that the arts, science, and history (including our American heroes) are not one dimensional subjects with only one narrative, but subjects with differing intersectional layers. As a teacher myself, I try to create a space where students can critically challenge assumptions, a space where students can question history, science, math, a space to propose a new perspective on older models. I was taught in school that the incarceration of Japanese Americans was for their own good. I wish that someone had challenged that perspective.

This is not to say that Geisel did not have a change of heart later in life. Perhaps he was just keeping up with the times when racial intolerance became distasteful in America, nonetheless he did make that turn. If I did have more oversight I would have insisted that they include his turnaround. However, we trusted that the kids did adequate research and based the flyer in facts.

We do appreciate that you applaud Rockett for his civic mindedness, and we appreciate the education you are providing him. I apologize for the length of this email, but I thought it was important to convey.

Sincerely,

Steve

The kids’ elementary school is a “fairly progressive” public school, said Steve, noting that the website boasts of its ethnic and cultural diversity and strong community ties. Notably, the school emphasizes its “Core Values,” which are respect, integrity and diversity.

“Schools should be a space for critical thought, especially in these new times,” Steve explained. “Rockett was first inspired to do something about Dr Seuss week because of these core values.”

Added Rockett, “Drawing racist cartoons are not respectful, do not show integrity and hurt people that are different than you. It does not show diversity because it is trying to gain anger against a person because of their differences.”

The elementary schooler said he wishes his teacher had allowed him to pass out the fliers, or used the incident as a teaching moment to share a lesson about this piece of history. The school did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.

“I hope that people learn that Dr. Seuss was not perfect and that he drew racist cartoons,” said Rockett. “I also hope that people will learn that everyone has a dark side and that nobody, not even very famous people, are perfect.”

Both siblings also noted that Dr. Seuss reportedly later expressed remorse for his depiction of Japanese people and tried to make up for it with his later work.

Zoe said she was “shocked,” “speechless” and “very curious” when she first learned about Dr. Seuss’ racist cartoons. She expected her classmates to have a similar reaction.

“I just wanted to inform them and meant no harm,” she said. “I didn’t want people to deeply hate him for what he did. After all, he regretted his cartoons.”

“In my opinion we didn’t violate any rules or core values,” she added. “Doing this gave me a big lesson: In life, you will always have to take risks, and there are always consequences for having a voice and doing what you believe in.”

H/T Angry Asian Man

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

I’ll never forget the first time I realized people saw my brother and dad differently. I was 13 and it was after 9/11. My family was in New York City visiting my brother who lived there at the time, and we were walking down the street when a man with an Australian accent yelled “Hey, Bin Laden, go home” as his friend mimed playing a flute while shaking his head from side to side.

No one said anything as they laughed and walked past us. We actually pretended it didn’t happen, and later that day, I remember overhearing my mom nonchalantly mentioning to my dad that maybe they should consider moving back to India.

That day I learned two things: Being brown makes me a “bad” kind of different and America was not considered a permanent home for my family.

Since the election, moving out of the country is once again a prominent topic of conversation. My parents are looking into Canada’s immigration policies; they’re planning to renovate real estate in India just in case. My dad nonchalantly mentioned needing to learn to protect himself. When we talked about it, he listened to my argument for nonviolence, but his final comment struck me deep: “So you’d rather see me dead than be able to protect myself?”

Every single day I wake up with a sense of dread that something is going to happen to someone I love. The chances just keep getting greater.

My heart hurts that these are the conversations that take up my quality time with my family now – that every single day I wake up with a sense of dread that something is going to happen to someone I love. The probability keeps feeling greater.

Do we belong here?

Srinivas Kuchibhotla’s wife asked this very question in a Facebook post after her husband was shot by a man who yelled “get out of my country” in Kansas last week.

Do we belong here?

What is belonging, but a particular set of people who create a community that provides comfort, security and acceptance? I belong with my friends. I belong with the community my parents have been a part of in Virginia. I belong in my workplace.

Yet I was told to go home by an aggressive Trump supporter a few months ago and I was startled because I thought I was home.

America prides itself on being a melting pot of colors and faiths. This, along with the opportunity to excel, was reason enough for my parents to bring their two children to Virginia and have me here. But lately it feels like we’ve been naïve.

The fact that the Kansas incident didn’t produce so much more outrage or media coverage emphasizes to me that my family and I (along with other people of color, Muslims and targeted minorities) don’t matter. It took six days for the White House to even mention the attack. It’s outrageously disappointing. But it’s not new. People of color are being threatened or attacked or worse, killed, every day.

It reminds me of the boiling frog metaphor: When a frog is put into boiling water, it immediately jumps out, but if you heat the water slowly, it doesn’t perceive danger and thus is boiled. 

Almost every day, I read or hear about a story of a minority being accosted or attacked. And as long as our government leaders are silent, and as long as we allow discriminatory rhetoric to go unchallenged in the media, hate will only continue to flourish. People of color are growing accustomed to imminent danger and living in fear of threats and attacks; before we know it, we’ll all be, or know someone, personally affected by this prevalent hate.

As long as our government leaders are silent, and as long as we allow discriminatory rhetoric to go unchallenged in the media, hate will only continue to flourish.

Just days after the Kansas shooting, an Indian man was shot dead outside his home in South Carolina and then days later, a Sikh man was shot in his driveway in Seattle.

Maybe this American melting pot is just a pot that has been heating up slowly and is boiling us like frogs.

Srinivas Kuchibhotla, Harnish Patel and Deep Rai represent people of color, minorities, my family, and my loved ones.

My brother, a turban-wearing Sikh man, is an ER physician at Duke University and just last week he had to deal with an Islamophobic patient who asked him if he was going to treat him differently because he was Jewish (and because he assumed my brother was Muslim).

My brother treated the patient with respect because the issue isn’t what faith he practices, but that people of color, Muslims and Sikhs are getting targeted and attacked for no other reason than appearances and preconceptions.

My reaction to this incident wasn’t shock. It was gratitude that it was nothing more.

It’s always been normal for my mom to call twice when she’s trying to get in touch with me, and usually it never indicates an urgent matter. But now every time she calls me twice, my heart pounds a little faster. Did something bad happen to my dad, or my brother? Do we know someone who was attacked or killed?

America isn’t feeling like the land of the free anymore; it feels more like the land of fear.

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

”Get Out” is being universally praised by critics for its ability to sprinkle social commentary over the mixed combination of horror and comedy.

The directorial debut of Jordan Peele, who also wrote and produced the film, follows a young black man who is meeting his white girlfriend’s parents for the first time. But the visit doesn’t turn out as he planned, hoped or wished it would.

Now, Funny Or Die has taken the premise a level up by adding Donald Trump into the mix. This is “Get Out (Of The White House).”

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

It seems that much of the millennial generation would rather patronize swanky restaurants in gentrified neighbourhoods than think about their future. Debt, joblessness, and the rising cost of living have contributed to making millennials poorer than their parents. But perhaps it’s time the average Boomer started helping our younger “hipper” generation.

We never really consider the idea of helping millennials with their deficiencies brought on by the modern world. More time is spent musing on how millennials will grow up disenfranchised than actually developing strategies to help the generation.

The common criticisms lobbied against millennials are that they’re lazy, entitled, and lack a political identity. It’s become easy to blame the problems of the world on a generation of kids who live by the tenents of instant gratification. Those children who grew up in the era of high speed internet and smartphones don’t really know what it’s like to earn anything, or so we’re told.

As the first generation to do worse than their parents, many graduated millennials enter into a climate of extortionate housing costs and instability. Bestselling leadership expert Simon Sinek explains for The RSA how we can help millennials become the confident future custodians our society desperately needs. It’s a rather easy idea: we should start helping them.

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Looks like Barack Obama isn’t letting something like a little wiretapping accusation stand in his way of being the coolest ever.

Obama brought his new favorite pastime, reminding Americans what they’re missing, to the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., on Sunday. His appearance comes amidst claims from Donald Trump that the former president wiretapped the phone lines at Trump Tower in the time leading up to the election. 

But if his look is any indication of how he’s taking the news ― a pair of jeans, a button-front shirt, sunglasses and ― wait for it ― a super stylish brown leather jacket, we think it’s safe to say he’s not losing too much sleep over the whole thing. 

For the first time ever, he may have even upstaged Michelle Obama, who looked lovely yet less fashion-forward in a black turtleneck, pants and cardigan. We never thought we’d see the day.

Obama has been looking relaxed, happy and handsome as ever since leaving the White House. Can you blame him? 

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Trevante Rhodes says “there’s no better moment than right now” for his burgeoning acting career. 

Since the release of “Moonlight” last October, the 27-year-old Louisiana native has earned praises and award recognition for his breakout role as Black, the adult portrayal of the film’s protagonist, Chiron, who struggles with growing up in Miami’s Liberty City neighborhood.  

After the movie’s Golden Globe win for Best Motion Picture, Drama, and Oscar win for Best Picture, Rhodes is now focused on repeating his success with upcoming roles in Netflix’s college-hazing drama “Burning Sands” and in “The Predator,” a sequel to the 1987 sci-fi film. 

On the heels of the DVD and Blu-ray release of “Moonlight,” Rhodes dished to The Huffington Post about the film’s Oscar win, how director Barry Jenkins has enhanced his love for cinema, and his thoughts on his much talked-about Calvin Klein underwear campaign.

Congratulations on your recent Oscar win for Best Picture. What was your immediate reaction to the onstage flub following Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway accidentally announcing “La La Land” as the winner?

Honestly, in that particular moment when you hear “La La Land” [as the winner], you’re happy for the cast and the crew because we’ve been going on this journey with them for the past few months. And so, we got to know them very well. Just like what [“La La Land” producer] Jordan Horowitz said when he was up there [accepting the award]. They’re just a wonderful group of people that we were fortunate enough to get to know. And so, we were just happy for them.

And then you see this guy walking onstage with an envelope. I was sitting next to André Holland and turned to him and was like, “André, something’s going on. Something bad is about to happen.” And he said, “Nah, nah, nah.” And then the envelope gets to the front and we saw what we saw.

And so I got Mahershala [Ali] and Barry [Jenkins] up to run up onstage. Thankfully, we were the Best Picture winner. It was always a high. There was never a high moment or low moment. There was never that contrast. It just went from being 100 percent excited for “La La Land” to 200 percent excited for “Moonlight.”

What would you have said onstage as an acceptance speech had you been given the opportunity to share a message with the audience?

I would’ve obviously thanked everyone involved in the process of making and supporting the film. And obviously, the fans and the people who see themselves as me [Chiron] in the film, which is most important. Just love yourself and we see you, we see you, we see you. And thank you.

Given this was your first time working with Barry Jenkins, how would you describe your experience filming with Barry?

It was incredible. Barry is a very heartfelt and intellectual person. I’m very inquisitive, and I always have questions and need to touch things to see how it works, or why it works. And Barry was someone who always, always 100 percent had an answer to every question I had. Which for me, is the most fulfilling thing. And so, to have that intellect and to be able to learn from someone with that kind of intellect and also to be able to work with someone who had equally that amount of compassion, and empathy, and love, it was just a unique experience to grow with and learn from. And I’m a big cinema fan, and I love doing films because they have a different way to depict different stories and events. And Barry is a foreign filmmaker in a sense.

But to be a part of something where someone has so much style and so much love for the craft is amazing. I learned from that. And I kind of grew my love for cinema through my conversations with Barry. Because obviously he’s even more of a cinema buff. So to be able to pick his brain whenever, or send him a text message like, “What movie should I go study?” He’ll go ahead and send it to me. So yeah, it was a great experience.

Did you experience any challenges while portraying Chiron?

No, I don’t believe so. I tried to think of some, but then I feel like that’s just trying to force myself to say, “Oh, well, this part was difficult,” but, nah, man. It was really just … I won’t say it was easy, but I knew who the person was. The script was written so well and I had so much faith, and Barry had faith in myself. And if you put yourself out on a limb, you have someone like Barry who has your back. It was really again just trusting in Barry and trusting in the script and not having any fear to put myself out there.

Were there certain specific experiences or people that you researched or looked to in order to develop the nuances of Chiron?

I’m the kind of person where I always digest everything around me. So for me, it was kind of like understanding that, and honestly, I had my best friend since I was 9 years old, he came out recently. So, growing up, I knew his struggles were bad. And that part of the story was with me. But as far as the nuances, those were things I picked up on just by watching people in passing in a sense. And not judging people, but just understanding and being curious about why people walk a certain way, or why people have this sort of closed-off demeanor. All these different things trying to understand why people do what we do. Just trying to place certain things to develop this character’s physicality.

And so, it was just picking and pulling from people that I’ve seen in passing, and walking in that headspace through my life for a few weeks to get a hang of it and then just bringing it into the film.

What has been the most meaningful feedback or praise you have received about the film so far?

Ah, man, just “Thank you” ― “Thank you for allowing me to see myself, because I haven’t seen myself on screen.” That’s something that I hear quite often, and that’s the highest praise you could ever get. Someone who is teary-eyed, shaking, and just needs to hug you. They can’t even verbalize the way that they feel, but you see so much in their eyes, because they’re so grateful for you being a part of something that helps depict their life story, depict their struggle and allow them to breathe in a sense. Because they haven’t been able to do that throughout their entire life, because they felt the need to shield themselves from the world. Just having those moments with the people is just the most amazing thing. That’s better than anything.

Do you plan to continue to use your artistry to amplify underrepresented narratives on screen?

One million percent. That’s the goal. That’s why I wanna do bigger films, so my face and my “brand” gets broaden so that I can do another film like “Moonlight” and hopefully it reaches more people, because [people will say], “Oh, Trevante Rhodes is in that? Ah, man, I don’t know what it’s about, but I’ll go check it out.” And then they end up getting a different experience, because I’m a part of something. So absolutely, it’s just about finding the right material, telling the right story with the right person who also has a like-minded vision and the same kind of heart.

Prior to acting, you were active as a track and field sprinter in college. What made you transition from sports to pursuing a career in acting?

I was given an opportunity to do sports in college and get a degree because of it. I ran track for the University of Texas and was studying to be a petroleum landman. And I was gifted an opportunity to audition for a film during my last semester in college, which I discovered while jogging around campus. And I kind of got the bug from that instant when I didn’t get the role, but it was kind of like sports in a sense.

It’s like the most individualized team sport, like track and field. You do your best to give your best performance so that the totality of the film can be great. So, I just had the opportunity to continue being an athlete without breaking down my body as much.

In addition to acting, you may have a bright future in modeling thanks to the responses from your recent Calvin Klein ad. What were your thoughts about the reactions?

[Laughs] Ah, man. [Laughs] It was funny, because I get — obviously people tag you on photos, and it’s all over New York, like on the streets, and it’s insane, man! I work out hard, and so now the world sees the product of you working out. And I’m like, “Ah, that’s really cool.” I don’t know any other way to describe it. It’s Calvin Klein, that’s iconic, you know. Marky Mark did that. I was like, “It’s ‘Moonlight’ and Marky Mark, baby.” It’s incredible.

And it’s black and white and it just looks so beautiful. And it’s to amplify a movie that’s so beautiful that we all care about so much that it ended up getting Best Picture. Like, there’s no better moment than right now. And then thinking about Mahershala [Ali], he just had a daughter and to be a part of that is really, really cool.

The ladies want to know, are you single and what qualities do you look for in a partner?

[Laughs] Yeah, I’m single. As for what I look for, I don’t know any other way to put it, but I look for truth, and honesty, because that’s something that’s few and far between. And obviously, someone who takes care of herself physically. But truth, honesty, and love, that’s what’s most important. Oh, and someone who can vibe to some jazz. Because I love jazz music a lot.

“Moonlight” is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

And the NAACP…

And Charlamagne Tha God…

And a few others:

Ben Carson, sit down. 

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices