“Speaking Truth To Power!”

Hello, Golden Divas!

Club Fifty is paying homage to one of the most influential people around the world, the beautiful and talented actress Viola Davis. She is paramount to the entertainment industry and we are celebrating her 55th Birthday; which was Tuesday, August 11, 2020. The mere fact that Davis exudes some powerful Black Girl Magic is monumental within itself. Davis’s life came full circle on her Birthday. She celebrated by purchasing the house where she was born in South Carolina, a former plantation with 160 acres that was inhabited by slaves.

“I own it…all of it.”

Davis’s metaphor says it all. Although many misconstrued this statement as she purchased the property and land. She is actually referring to owning the beginning, ups, and downs of her incredible life story.

“May you live long enough to know why you were born.”

In case you’re not familiar with this lovely gem, Viola Davis is an acclaimed actress and a woman of many firsts and the only African American performer to achieve the ‘Triple Crown of Acting.’ Best known for her stellar award-winning performances in Fences (Rose Maxson), How To Get Away with Murder (Annalise Keating), Intimate Apparel (Esther), The Help (Aibileen Clark), and King Hedley II (Tonya).

Her list of awards includes 1 Academy Award, 1 British Academy Award, 3 Drama Desk Awards, 1 Emmy, 1 Golden Globe Award, 5 Screen Actors Guild Awards, and 2 Tony Awards.

This is an old saying that rings true in Viola Davis’s life.  

‘It’s not about where you’re from, it’s where you’re going.”

Whatever nationality you are, whatever religion you profess, whatever culture you follow, it doesn’t matter. What God has for you is for you. You must follow your dreams, and use the God-given talents that you were blessed with so you can bless others.

I am galvanized by Viola Davis, the woman who has reshaped and expanded the depiction of Black women by playing strong, powerful characters in entertainment. One can imagine the joy I felt to see her dark melanin skin grace the cover of Vanity Fair magazine this July/August. V.F. is the first in magazine history that a black photographer and a black actor partnered together to do a cover shoot.  As you can see, Davis is on the cover of Vanity Fair, and it is evident that she is going places and if a picture is worth a thousand words, ladies, we have a lot to talk about!

The acclaimed actress who was blessed to be born with a rich dark hue is gracing the V.F. cover in a beautiful designer blue coat dress by Max Mara and earrings by Pomellato against a black and blue background. The gown has a deep plunge in the back to show off her vibrant chocolate skin that looks as smooth as silk. Davis’s image is shown in profile, with her back facing the camera and her hand on her hip.

“If you can see her, you can be her!”

Davis’s beauty and powerful historic image was captured by the spectacular photographer Dario Calmese. The cover marks the first V.F. cover shot by a Black photographer. His work showcased not only her beauty, but Calmese inspiration also came from an artist’s iconic portraits of slaves. He told a story through the lenses of imagery of the bareback, claiming the narrative of when Louis Agassiz took slave portraits in the 1880s when Blacks were covered in welts and crisscross scars. However, the image of Viola Davis does not show the white gaze on ‘Black Suffering’ but the Black gaze of ‘Elegance and Beauty.’

Thank you, Dario Calmese, for not only getting it but for slaying it!! His cover of Vanity Fair reclaimed the African American narrative in one shot and illustrated how fashion and the media had failed people of color. Ladies, if you don’t know already, this is enormous! We’re talking about Vanity Fair here.

This magazine took 100 years to hire the phenomenal Dario Calmese, 38, whose work is electrifying and astonishing. To be clear, the melanin skin tone was not on the radar or in the forefront of being on V.F. covers. As Davis gently states the history of comprehensiveness or the lack thereof in her Vanity Fair interview.

“They’ve had a problem in the past with putting Black women on the covers,” she says. “But that’s a lot of magazines, that’s a lot of beauty campaigns. There’s a real absence of dark-skinned Black women. When you couple that with what’s going on in our culture, and how they treat Black women, you have a double whammy. You are putting us in a complete cloak of invisibility.”

Black women and photographers rarely have the opportunity to grace the covers, let alone take the images to be on the cover. This, my Golden Divas, was the norm throughout the industry. Mr. Calmese is on a shortlist of another way too long firsts in the industry. In 2018, Tyler Mitchell became the first Black photographer to shoot a Vogue cover, featuring Beyonce, and in 2019, Dana Scruggs was the first to shoot the cover of Rolling stone in its 50 -year history.

Thanks to Radhika Jones, Vanity Fair’s magazine’s editor-in-chief (Dec. 2017) for fixing the lack of representation and adding more color to the magazine. There have only been 17 Black people on the cover in 35 years since 1983 and 2017. During her tenure, Jones featuring Janelle Monae and T.V. actor, writer, and showrunner Lena Waithe.

The young lady with humble beginnings, of being poor, black, and living in sparse conditions, has changed the representation of how the world sees Black women.

“My Entire Life Has Been A protest,” Davis says. “My production company is my protest. Me not wearing a wig at the Oscars in 2012 was my protest. It is a part of my voice, just like introducing myself to you and saying, “Hello, my name is Viola Davis.”

Golden Divas check out her interview; it is an excellent read!!! In her interview with Vanity Fair, Davis discusses the recent racial justice protests. Her upcoming role as the former First Lady Michelle Obama, her impoverished upbringing in Rhode Island, and the many challenges she has encountered as a Black woman in Hollywood. Among many more topics.

“When I was younger, I did not exert my voice,” says Davis,” because I did not feel worthy of having a voice?”

As Viola Davis is thrilled to share the cover and interview with Vanity Fair, I am excited to pay homage to this iconic actress!!

Yes, to the dark-skinned Sistah, who spoke her truth to power.

Yes, to the golden diva who was surrounded by a secure village to tell her that she is worthy, she is pretty and she is smart enough.

Yes, to Viola Davis who came to Hollywood and conquered it!

Golden Divas what is your truth?