Viola Davis discussed her involvement with social justice Saturday evening as the headline speaker for the ASU Center for the Study of Race and Democracy’s annual Delivering Democracy Lecture.
Davis is a vocal advocate for social justice and equality in Hollywood, especially in regard to women of color. Davis said there are a lot of great black actors, but Hollywood either doesn’t have scripts for black actors or the scripts they do have
In response to the recent #OscarsSoWhite controversy, Davis said she won't attend this year’s ceremony. She said the problem isn’t with the Oscars, but with the people behind the scenes.
“The problem
Davis has
Davis grew up in poverty within a predominately white neighborhood, which she said triggered her low self-esteem.
“I grew up
Davis said she deals with racism in Hollywood by refusing to be limited because she’s a black woman.
“What I do is that I fight it (scrutiny) with intellect,” said Davis. "I don’t want any limitations put on me. I’m not going to filter down my world to meet you. You have to come to me.”
Global health and justice studies junior Grace Berry said she was a fan of Davis' work before attending the event.
"I like her show and I watched her speech for the Emmys and I thought it was really, really good and I wanted to hear her speak," Berry said.
Psychology senior Jazzy Gibson said Davis is a successful and positive role model for women of color.
"She's African-American. She's darker and that empowers me because a lot of times lighter women get the roles," Gibson said. "I got a lot of knowledge about acting and I might want to act in the future."
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