Connect with us

Entertainment

Girlfriends Actress Talks Code Switching and Her New Role in “I Am The Night”

THE AFRO — Golden Brooks spent much of her California childhood acting out plays with her neighborhood friends.

Published

on

By Nadine Matthews

Golden Brooks spent much of her California childhood acting out plays with her neighborhood friends. However, acting wasn’t something she aspired to. “I wanted to be Barbara Walters,” she says. “I wanted to interview people.” Perhaps most known for the timeless comedy series Girlfriends in which she co-starred with Tracee Ellis Ross, Jill Marie Jones and Persia White, Brooks is one of the stars of the upcoming TNT series, I Am The Night.

Raised by a divorced mother, Brooks says she is mostly grateful for the way she was brought up. “My Mom worked two jobs to support my brother and I. We struggled but my brother and I were always in private school. My mother always made sure we had the best. She did all she could to keep us busy and exposed to different things.” Not having much left over for toys, Brooks was forced to use her imagination, which helped in her career as an actress.

“Code switching,” she says, was also a big part of her childhood. “I would go to these private schools and assimilate and then when I got back to my block I would be more the neighborhood girl. I learned quickly to navigate both worlds. It was what gave me the knowledge to build my character on Girlfriends.”

I Am The Night is based on Fauna Hodel’s memoir One Day She’ll Darken. In it, Brooks portrays the mixed-race Fauna’s mother Jimmy Lee. When Fauna learns some shocking secrets about her parentage, she sets off on a dark, sometimes terrifying search for her roots. Set in 1960’s Nevada and Los Angeles, it is part mystery, part family drama, part tantalizing film noir.

The relationship between Jimmy Lee and Fauna is complicated and Brooks drew from her experiences with her own mother to create the character. She says, “My mother has much lighter skin than me so there were a lot of things I would do she couldn’t understand. I used some of that for this character’s relationship with her daughter.”

Fauna, though white-passing, has always lived as Black. When she learns more about her family, resentment toward her mother grows and the tension between them escalates to dizzying proportions. Brooks can relate. “I didn’t look like my mom and at 15 you don’t understand why. You think, ‘If I just looked like this, I would have that.’ I went through a lot of that. A lot of that sadness and pain and anger I put into Jimmy Lee.”

Two things happened that began to solidify Brooks’ identity as a teen. “They began bussing kids from South Central Los Angeles and they would tease me that I talked like a white girl. Eventually though, those kids helped me feel more comfortable with myself.” Theater also entered Brooks’ life around that time. She recalls, “I found I felt safe in theater. So I engrossed myself in theater in junior high and high school. I could disappear into the characters and that’s where I felt most comfortable.”

As someone who majored in media representation at UC Berkeley, Brooks has an interesting vantage point from which to judge how Hollywood has evolved. She explains, “I started out on Showtime on a show called Links with Pam Grier and Tim Reid. He actually was doing what Tyler Perry is doing now. Tim had his own soundstage, everything. I’ve seen the exploitation, I’ve played the stereotypes. I remember when the CW was around and it was like what BET is now.”

She shares that  she doesn’t encounter the blatant racism that she did even at the beginning of this century. “I used to get, ‘Can you just sass it up a bit? Yes, there was that code and I don’t hear that anymore. In the early 2000s you’d hear comments like that.”

Brooks credits Girlfriends with helping to create the more welcoming environment for Black actresses that exists today. “I can never talk about where we are today,” she states emphatically, “without talking about Girlfriends. It was the springboard for a lot of things. It portrayed four successful African-American women and I think it led to characters like Olivia Pope and the Cookie. We’re now blockbuster sensations. There’s no conversation about ‘Will they be successful?’ or ‘Are they gonna sell overseas?’ Yeah, we do! We stood our ground and things changed. It’s living proof persistence pays off!”

This article originally appeared in The Afro

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of October 30 – November 5, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of October 30 – November 5, 2024

Published

on

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Continue Reading

Bay Area

Love Life Organization Shows Love

As part of Love Life Week, the Love Life Foundation was honored to produce the 1974-75 World Champion Golden State Warrior Day. It’s a shame that our first Bay Area World Championship team’s unique accolades had been lost in the pre social media era and the cultural revolution of the 1970s.

Published

on

Members of the 1975 NBA championship team, Charles Dudley (left) and Clifford Ray (right) embrace Love Life Foundation leader Donald Lacy for his antiviolence mission. Courtesy photo.
Members of the 1975 NBA championship team, Charles Dudley (left) and Clifford Ray (right) embrace Love Life Foundation leader Donald Lacy for his antiviolence mission. Courtesy photo.

City of Oakland Celebrates 1975 NBA World Championship Team 

By Donald Lacy

Special to The Post

 As part of Love Life Week, the Love Life Foundation was honored to produce the 1974-75 World Champion Golden State Warrior Day.

It’s a shame that our first Bay Area World Championship team’s unique accolades had been lost in the pre social media era and the cultural revolution of the 1970s.

The 1975 NBA World Championship team were invited back to the City of Oakland last Friday, to be properly celebrated for their ground-breaking performance in 1975.

The heartwarming ceremony highlighted the recent passing of the legendary coach of that team, Al Attlles, and his former players Clifford Ray and Charles Dudley were on hand to represent the “Cardiac Kids” as they were called back then for their ability to make great comeback victories during their run for the title.

Warriors great Chris Mullin and former spiritual advisor Gary Reeves gave heartfelt testimonies of their experiences under Attles’ leadership and their relationship with the inspiration they received from the NBA 1975 World Champion Golden State Warriors.

The City of Oakland provided proclamations to all parties with speeches made by city leadership including Mayor Sheng Thao and Deputy Mayor Dr. Kimberly Mayfield and activity host Love Life non-profit founder and Executive Director Donald E. Lacy Jr..

There will be a celebration of life event Nov. 9 honoring Attles’ legacy at Alameda College.

Continue Reading

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of October 23 – 29, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of October 23 – 29, 2024

Published

on

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Continue Reading

Subscribe to receive news and updates from the Oakland Post

* indicates required

CHECK OUT THE LATEST ISSUE OF THE OAKLAND POST

ADVERTISEMENT

WORK FROM HOME

Home-based business with potential monthly income of $10K+ per month. A proven training system and website provided to maximize business effectiveness. Perfect job to earn side and primary income. Contact Lynne for more details: Lynne4npusa@gmail.com 800-334-0540

Facebook

Exclusive interview with County D.A. Price days before recall election. Photo by Ken Epstein.
Activism3 hours ago

‘Jim Crow Was and Remains Real in Alameda County (and) It Is What We Are Challenging and Trying to Fix Every Day,’ Says D.A. Pamela Price

“People have no idea what the vision is for the next district attorney, or where the office will go if I am, in fact, recalled, she continued. “I'm just running against a billionaire,” who does not show his face in public, she said. Courtesy photo.
Activism4 hours ago

‘Criminal Justice Reform Is the Signature Civil Rights Issue of Our Time,’ says D.A. Pamela Price

Activism1 day ago

Oakland Post: Week of October 30 – November 5, 2024

Keyanna Ortiz-Cedeño at her graduation from UC Berkeley after receiving her master’s degree in City Regional Planning. Alongside her, are her parents holding a Puerto Rican flag. Courtesy photo.
Activism3 days ago

“Two things can be true at once.” An Afro-Latina Voter Weighs in on Identity and Politics

PPIC
California Black Media4 days ago

Ahead of Nov. Election, Event to Check Pulse of California’s Political Landscape

Stock Photo
Alameda County4 days ago

Access Better Health with Medically Tailored Meals – Transforming Health Through Nutrition for Medi-Cal Patients

Courtesy of National Archives, Washington, D.C.
Art4 days ago

A Prolific Painter: Artist and Advocate Lois Mailou Jones

iStock Photo
California Black Media4 days ago

Not So Sweet: California State Health Campaign Highlights Dangers of Sugary Drinks

Yahushua Robinson
California Black Media4 days ago

New California Law Will Protect Students During Extreme Weather

California Secretary of State Dr. Shirley N. Weber. Photo Courtesy of ShirleyWeber.com.
California Black Media4 days ago

More Than 1.2 Million Youth Pre-Registered to Vote, Secretary of State Weber Announced

Courtesy of Art Harris.
Black History4 days ago

Health is Our Wealth: An Afrocentric Perspective to Health & Wellness

On Sept. 19, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bipartisan legislative package to improve housing initiatives and address the homelessness crisis.
California Black Media4 days ago

Gov. Newsom Signs Legislative Package to Increase Housing, Improve Accountability

Shutterstock
Activism4 days ago

On Your November Ballot: Prop 6 Could End “Involuntary Servitude” in California Prisons

Minister King X
Activism4 days ago

Minister King X, Civil Rights Group Sue California Prisons Over Right to Protest

Photo courtesy UC Berkeley News.
Community4 days ago

Advanced Conductors Provide Path for Grid Expansion

Trending

Copyright ©2021 Post News Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.