Why Sunday Was Still a Winning Night for Viola Davis
Viola Davis did not take home the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in The Help. But Davis still had a winning weekend, in a different way.
This weekend Davis ditched the wigs she’d been seen sporting throughout most of the awards season and opted rock her natural hair — a gorgeous curly Afro. The Daily Beast called the decision a “teachable moment, giving the world a crash course in the ever-complicated politics of African-American hair.”
But an interview with Essence magazine at the ESSENCE’s Black Women in Hollywood event revealed that Davis’ choice was more personal than political.
From Essence.com:
When asked if she breaks out her natural hair for special occasions, Davis replied, “No, there hasn’t been any occasion that I felt brave enough to do it.”
Davis attributed her bravery to wear her natural ‘do to the encouragement of her loving husband Julius Tennon, who “told me to step into who I am,” she said.
Davis went on to say that wearing her cropped, natural coif made her feel powerful: “I feel more powerful every day, more secure in who I am, and I’ve waited so long for that…. It feels so divine.”
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