This foundation, Barron explained, was essential for bringing depth to Jenkins, a character under intense media scrutiny. To portray Jenkins authentically, Barron also studied Aaron Hernandez’s life, gaining insights that added layers to the emotional complexities her character faced.
“For me, I love Green Day through my love of rock. I love rock music, and I feel—I know—Black people created rock,” said Rucker. “As with most genres, we’ve created it, and I see strong parallels between gospel music and rock. That’s part of my enjoyment in how I sing rock.”
“UCLA is an amazing public research university,” said Hunt. “It has been quite an honor to work with an outstanding team of scholars and colleagues to chart the path for this institution’s next great achievements.”
“One of the things that helped me with ‘Poppa’s House,’” said Jackson, “is that in a multicamera sitcom, when they yell cut, the writers will come in and pitch different jokes, so you learn not to be completely locked into certain things because it’s constantly changing.”
“He was fun and loved to eat ice cream. Most importantly, he loved being home with us, my mom, and all of our animals on our farm. That’s the Otis Redding I grew up knowing.”
Chew also credits his mentors for shaping his career by exposing him to a variety of music venues, from Broadway pits to intimate jazz clubs. These experiences deepened his appreciation for both the precision of theater and the spontaneity of jazz, enhancing his versatility as a musician and musical director.
“We approach Black history as we approach ourselves,” Draper explained. “We do that naturally, with a lens of authenticity, but also with nuances from lived experiences that might help us understand things a little better or dig a little deeper.”
From there, Byrd said she booked talent for a few smaller awards before landing at the BET Awards. “I’ve been on 25-years of BET,” she said. And Byrd acknowledged that she would not have been able to do it without the support of a good team.
Byer chuckled at poking a little fun at the West Coast, and she is naturally funny. But when it comes to doing comedy professionally, Byer does have a process. “The way I write jokes is I either come up with a premise or punchline, and then I talk on stage to see what happens,” she said.
Darin Jones is a Century City based senior business manager with Gelfand Rennert and Feldman, LLC. Jones has 17 years of experience in accounting, and he specializes in entertainment business management. With an extensive background in city government, banking, and real estate, Jones was driven to entertainment business management out of concern for how Black entertainers incorrectly manage their wealth. “I saw how celebrities mismanaged their funds – particularly minority entertainers,” said Jones. “I wanted get out there and help them manage their finances, their investments, managing their books – managing their lifestyles.” Jones likened what he does to being
In true Lawrence style, he remarked on the chatter about his supposed stroke, followed by him spritely side-leaping across the stage, and then he said, “Does that look like I had a stroke?” From there, he uproariously enthralled the audience.
La Faye Baker is an iconic stunt performer, stunt coordinator, and producer. She is also a humanitarian whose charitable endeavors focus on empowering women.
Dr. Veronica Appleton is a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) expert.
Amongst many stage productions, and film and television adaptations of “Cyrano de Bergerac,” Iwuji said playwright Martin Crimp’s translation of the piece is different because it is “sexy, hilarious, and modern.”
Washington said only God and his faith helped him to overcome those challenging times, and he strives to continue to uplift his name by attaching himself to provocative projects like “God’s Not Dead: In God We Trust.”