Iāve often said that when you start looking into the backgrounds of the mainstream Black actresses in Hollywood, you will find a set of credentials that, to me, highlight the Black Tax and how it may be uniquely applied to Black women who wish to act. Considering the percentage of the country in general who has a degree and the backgrounds of other actors, you cannot convince me it is a coincidence that this much excellence and education was required of Black women in particular, just to be given the opportunity to fight for a chance.
That being saidā¦ iād like to celebrate these women.
left to right and top to bottomā¦
1) Kerry Washington (Scandal, Save The Last Dance, She Hate Me, Ray, Fantastic Four, Django Unchained, For Colored Girls, The Last King of Scotland, etc) - Ā graduated Phi Beta Kappa from George Washington University with a double major in Anthropology and Sociology. Received an honorary doctorate from there in 2013.
2) Taraji P. Henson (Empire, Person of Interest, Boston Legal, The Division, No Good Deed, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Hustle & Flow, Baby Boy, etc ā¦ for real the list is long as hell) - graduated with a degree in Theatre Arts from Howard University
3) Lupita Nyongāo (12 Years A Slave) - Masters of Fine Arts from Yale School of Drama, Ā BA in Film and Theatre Studies from Hampshire CollegeĀ
4) Viola Davis (How To Get Away With Murder, Law & Order: SVU, City of Angels, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, The Help, Law Abiding Citizen, Beautiful Creatures, Eat Pray Love, Antwone Fisher, etcā¦ also several Broadway creditsā¦ sheās a baddie basically) - Ā Attended Julliard for 4 years, Ā graduated from Rhode Island College with a degree in Theatre and received an honorary doctorate from there in 2002.
5) Angela Bassett (American Horror Story, ER, Whatās Love Got To Do With It, Notorious, The Jacksons: An American Dream, Akeelah and the Bee, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Waiting To Exhale, Boyz In The Hoodā¦ETC.. yāall it goes back to 1986ā¦ likeā¦ bow to a Queen when you see one) - Master of Fine Arts from Yale School of Drama, BA in African-American Studies from Yale University
6) Octavia Spencer (Red Band Society, Ugly Betty, Halfway Home, Fruitvale Station, The Help, etec.) - Bachelorās in Liberal Arts from Auburn University
7) Nicole Beharie (Sleepy Hollow, 42, American Violet, My Last Day Without You, A Free Man of Color [Broadway]) - Julliard for 4 years, got the Shakespeare scholarship and trained in England
8) Retta (Parks and Recreation) - Ā pre-med with a Sociology degree from Duke University, worked as a chemist with GlaxoSmithKline.
9) Jerrika Hinton (Greyās Anatomy) - Bachelor of Fine Arts from Southern Methodist University
10) Regina Hall (Law & Order: Los Angeles, Ally McBeal, Think Like A Man, Think Like A Man Too, Best Man, Best Man Holiday, The Scary Movie Franchise) - Masters in Journalism from NYU
Gabrielle Union (Being Mary Jane, Flash Forward, Night Stalker, City of Angels, Top Five, Think Like A Man, Think Like A Man Too, Bring It On, Daddyās Little Girls, Cadillac Records, Two Can Play That Game, etc) - graduated from UCLA with a degree in Sociology.
Danielle Brooks (Orange Is The New Black, first Black woman on Girls [a show that started in 2012 mind you..]) - graduated from Julliard.
Samira WIley (Orange Is The New Black) - Julliard grad.
Uzoamaka Nwaneka āUzoā AdubaĀ (Orange Is The New Black) - studied voice at Boston University and is a Broadway veteran.
Shonda Rhimes - writer, show creator, producer (Greyās Anatomy, Scandal, How To Get Away With Murder, Private Practice, Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, Crossroads, Princess Diaries 2) - Master of Fine Arts from the University of Southern California, majored in English and film studies at Dartmouth College and received an honorary doctorate from there in 2014.
