Photograph by Troy Harvey/The CW
All American: Homecoming Star Jeffrey Maya does not simply play an HBCU scholar on TV; She was an HBCU scholar herself. Within the early 2010s, he attended Clark Atlanta College and was honored as one in all its 40 underneath 40 simply final 12 months. Like her character Simone Hicks, she is a Los Angeles native who additionally attended an HBCU in Atlanta.
Standard for the reason that spinoff collection All Individuals Premiering on The CW in 2022, it has developed a vibrant fanbase, with many younger folks falling in love with Simone and her journey balancing buddies, boyfriends, her research, and enjoying tennis on the fictional Brindstone College in Atlanta. Simone has already been by means of so much All Individuals. She offers up her son for adoption and a wedding falls aside earlier than deciding to return to tennis and enroll on the HBCU the place her aunt Amara Patterson (performed by Atlantan Kelly Jenrette) is engaged. In Brindstone, he has constructed a tribe that features his nonbinary bestie Nat, former aspiring doctor-turned-dancer Keisha, former tennis rival Thea, Brindstone baseball participant Damon, and twin love pursuits with Landon.
Within the third and ultimate season, she faces a fair greater problem than selecting a boyfriend, enjoying tennis, and making it to commencement—a possible sickness. Right here, Maya talks in regards to the improvement of her character and divulges how wonderful it was to be tapped for the position, what it was like working with tennis star Coco Gough, and why she’s grateful for her time in Atlanta.
Why did you determine to attend Clark Atlanta College?
Clark Atlanta got here to me as a result of one in all my finest buddies in highschool stated we should always go to this college close to Spelman and Morehouse. We will actually get into it.
What did you discover as soon as there?
Doing all your analysis is completely different than really getting accepted, going and studying in regards to the historical past of your college—strolling the halls and sitting in a classroom studying the historical past of the dorms, which WEB Du Bois taught there and the way Spike Lee was taught by my journalism professor there. It was a whole lot of issues that I really feel have been rewarded to me that I did not actually count on.
how All American: Homecoming Come for you?
I’ll always remember. I bought a name from my crew. It was random and so they have been like, Hey, they’re planning a by-product All Individuals And so they need it on you. And I used to be Oh, attention-grabbingAs a result of I used to be on the present as a recurring visitor. So it was a kind of conditions the place you would not count on a chance like this.
Then I spoke to Nkechi [Okoro Carroll] its demonstrator All American: HomecomingAnd [she basically] To me his concepts about this world, this character being at an HBCU, and honoring and celebrating heritage and tradition, however telling tales about black existence by means of training and thru sports activities that are not essentially supported throughout our group however spotlight household and what which means. is constructing a tribe, actually vital issues that faculty children study and develop on their very own by means of their very own experiences.
How did you’re feeling about it?
It resonated with me as a result of it was my expertise of being born and raised in LA after which transferring throughout the nation to redefine myself or begin a brand new chapter in life. I used to be 100% down as a result of I knew what it meant to the tradition and what it meant to me, somebody who lived and skilled it. It was vital to be part of one thing like that.
The place is Simon in his journey in season three?
Everybody has a second in life. It does not matter which decade; It does not matter which season causes the turning level in your evolution. I feel this season, particularly, she’s going by means of a whole lot of challenges and a whole lot of moments of evolution in herself, at the beginning, and he or she’s form of falling aside, and that is one thing all of us really feel, particularly in faculty. I need to say that his theme is heavy on evolution and resilience.
Simone is battling breast most cancers and is only a faculty scholar. What has this story line been like for you?
It was a really eye-opening character arc as a result of I did not relate to most cancers with that age or demographic. Rising up, I all the time thought most cancers was one thing you developed as you grew up. It was fairly disturbing once they instructed me what they wished to do, however I used to be receptive as a result of it introduced consciousness and opened the best way for dialog, particularly about ladies’s well being and our our bodies and our autonomy over our our bodies. Nobody is aware of our our bodies higher than we do, and nobody has the proper to dictate how we operate when it comes to our well being and our well-being. It was a really critical course of contemplating the conversations I needed to have and the publicity to real-life experiences from survivors. It’s extremely irritating, however I am grateful that I had these moments, as a result of it actually opened my eyes and stretched my vulnerability in a brand new method, particularly on a present that catered extra to a youthful viewers. It was very heavy, however I feel it can be crucial.
Final season, Simone and her tennis teammates have been detained by legislation enforcement, which was impressed by a real-life incident that occurred in 2022 with HBCU Delaware State College’s ladies’s lacrosse crew. What did the arrival of tennis star Coco Gough imply to you? On board as himself in his display screen performing debut for that individual episode?
We labored with him for a number of days collectively and he was very sort and really humble. I feel humility is essential if you find yourself a genius. I’m so grateful to have that have together with her. And simply contemplating what he will do in his discipline and what he is completed, it is an honor to have him there and to be in an episode that is so vital to our tradition as soon as once more. Issues have gotten higher since our ancestors, however there’s nonetheless a whole lot of work to do. It is greater than only a second on tv. I’m so grateful to be a part of some change, to be actual, to do what I like to do. So for Coco Gough to be part of that, it says so much about what it stands for. And it isn’t simply his athletes; It stands for a lot of issues. So, yeah, I am grateful and grateful and grateful for him, for his work and his braveness and being an individual that is so huge for the present.
As an HBCU alumna, what are your ideas on Howard alum Vice President Kamala Harris working a marketing campaign that would probably make her the primary feminine US president?
I stand by him 100% and stand by his intentions this season. That is going to be main for our nation, main for Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. [of which Harris is a member]Chief for Howard College, chief for black ladies, chief for black males, chief for black households, chief for different black politicians, chief for all of the individuals who look as much as him and chief for our nation.
What position has Atlanta performed in your life and at this level in your profession?
I’ll all the time say that Atlanta is a big a part of who I’m right now as a result of I grew up there. When it comes to my grownup years, they’re crucial, ages 18 to 22. That is so much. I needed to study to deal with myself, my residence, study what it meant to have a automotive. That is the place I realized the best way to develop, the best way to dwell. I’ll all the time give a lot like to Atlanta for what it taught me about myself and the best way to be happy with my existence as a black lady. I do not know if homecoming That will have occurred with out the expertise. It is simply serendipitous. I’m grateful for Simone. I’m grateful for homecoming And what it has meant to me and to the tradition over the previous few years.
Its third and ultimate season All American: Homecoming Airs Mondays at 8pm on The CW till the top of September. The present is offered for streaming on The CW and Netflix.
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