Viola Davis covers the new issue of People Magazine, which makes me so happy. I feel bad for Viola in a way though because the last two cover stars were reality stars Christina El Moussa, and that youngest Duggar girl to have her second baby, Jessa. Viola is too good for People Magazine at this point, but she just won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, she slayed us all with her speech and she’s continuing to speak out about issues that are close to her. Yesterday we covered a recent interview from Viola in which she admitted that she suffers from impostor syndrome, which is when people feel like they’re not good enough or worthy of their accomplishments and worry that others will find out they’re a fraud. The outlet which interviewed Viola, ABC, had quotes from a psychologist who said that women and minorities are more like to have impostor syndrome than white men essentially. This makes a lot of sense to me given everything I’ve seen and experienced and I’ll leave it at that. In Viola’s People story she discusses her childhood, in which she experienced extreme poverty, and it puts her impostor syndrome comments in context. I knew Viola grew up poor, and she’s talked about it before and it’s a cause that’s close to her heart, but some of the details were truly shocking to me.
Growing up in Central Falls, R.I., Davis and her five siblings endured harsh living conditions as their parents, Dan and Mae Alice, struggled to make ends meet. “I would jump in trash bins with maggots looking for food, and I would steal from the corner store because I was hungry,” the actress says. “I never had any kids come to my house because my house was a condemned building, it was boarded up, it was infested with rats. I was one of those kids who were poor and knew it.”
The family’s rat problem was so bad, she has said, they bit the faces off her dolls and she had to go to sleep with rags tied around her neck to keep them from biting her at night. But the struggle didn’t weigh Davis down — it had the opposite effect.
“It became motivation as opposed to something else — the thing about poverty is that it starts affecting your mind and your spirit because people don’t see you. I chose from a very young age that I didn’t want that for my life. And it very much has helped me appreciate and value the things that are in my life now because I never had it. A yard, a house, great plumbing, a full refrigerator, things that people take for granted, I don’t.”
I’ve never even realized that rats can bite you in your sleep like that, it’s truly awful to even imagine, or to think of what it must have been like to sift through trash for food. It really puts so much else in perspective. I also like what she said about how she’s grateful she has so much now and how she doesn’t take it for granted. I’ve dealt with annoying inconveniences in life like everyone but nothing at that level and I have no idea what that must be like. Viola didn’t have running water or a bathroom at home either, just an outhouse. Her story is inspiring and thought-provoking on so many levels. Also one of her sisters works as a teacher at their old high school! Deloris Grant tells People that Viola’s love of acting was evident from a young age. “Viola has a creative mind, so we always escaped with stories, little plays and shows. She was able to take us away from any pain or suffering or depression.” That’s what she means when talks about living a life and I feel like I understand her conviction and drive a little better.
Look Viola got papped yesterday!
photos credit: WENN and Fame
Gil Scott Heron wrote a poem mentioning the conditions people lived in, Whitey On The Moon.
A rat done bit my sister Nell
With Whitey on the moon
Her face and arms began to swell
And Whitey’s on the moon
I can’t pay no doctor bills
But Whitey’s on the moon
Ten years from now I’ll be paying still
While Whitey’s on the moon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goh2x_G0ct4
My father was born in a London slum. No rats but certainly no bathroom and dreadful conditions. His family got moved into a council house during the postwar building and his mother felt as though she had won the lottery. Bathroom, proper heating, non-draughty windows.
We never had to dumpster dive for food but we did “share” our home with many many rats. When it got really cold at night we would pull our blankets over our heads and your toes may be sticking out and the rats would nibble on them. My mum who was a very deep sleeper (and a drunk), would often wake up with rat bite marks. I know it sounds horrific but when you are born in it and everyone else around you is living that way, its just life. In my work, I saw so much worse. I wont tell you what I encountered in a region called Turkana in East Africa. So dry not even rats survived. Still, I’m glad we made it out of that place.
On a lighter note, in my early twenties I lived in a shared house and one day we had a rat visitor. The mixture of horror and respect on those faces when I calmly cornered it and picked it up gave me life. I wish we had camera phones in those days.
You have the rat superpower! I suppose it’s a silver lining of sorts – not one you’d aim to have but kudos-giving if ever required!
We had mice in the house once – I think one of the cats must have brought a pregnant one in and not killed it. Just one of those things and relatively easily sorted but I thought I might die of the horror. My dad laughed at me – because of course, it just goes to show how easy I’ve had it, comparatively.
WOW that’s impressive. You’re a survivor!
And the Republican leadership believes that “ten years from now I’ll be paying still” for any medical care is fine — as long it doesn’t apply to their families.
Yes, I was surprised how much it touched me to read that Viola Davis, my favorite actress, grew up in almost the same circumstances as I did. I also felt like an imposter for a long time (until I read Pierre Bourdieu and suddenly understood why I felt that way) and I haven’t even told my husband that we used to search other people’s garbage for food and the mice that crawled over us while we tried to sleep and the dysfunction in our family and lack of hygiene and knowledge about hygiene. I sort of feel better now that I now that Viola Davis went through this too.
Central Falls is very tiny, one of the most densely populated cities in the US and extremely poor.
I interned at a poverty law center in RI while in law school and rat bites to children in Central Falls are not uncommon.
I admire Viola so much for accomplishing so much from such a start.
Yeah, Central Falls is not a feel-good place (except for Stanley’s Hamburgers, if you’re ever in the area). Viola is fantastic, love our RI girl!
Yes, Stanley’s is good. Also, if you are driving through that area with out-of-state plates obey the speed limit, which dips on Rte 95 when you enter the state from the north. Central Falls and Pawtucket set up speed traps to catch out of state drivers. They need the revenue. But also know that you can contest your first speeding ticket in RI and have it vacated on the grounds that it is your first – a really weird law.
I worked at a community development corporation in DC’s poorest quadrant when I was in my 20’s. To say that it was an eye opening experience for a white kid from the suburbs was an understatement. Although the term “white privilege” didn’t exist back then, I quickly grasped the concept.
I love Viola, her acting kind of reminds me of Angela Bassett, whos career seemed to stall at some point which is a shame.
Viola is a ferocious actress.
Gosh, I love this woman so much and am so happy for her.
My 70-something year old aunt has a scar on her lip from a rat biting her as a baby while she slept. It’s a thing.
She is truely an inspiration to all women,
and she looks stunning!
I’m so happy for her.
She is a gorgeous woman. And that white suit is amazing.
One more reason to love her 😭😭
I love her so much. There was an article on here once where she was talking about hunger, it was like she was writing my story. And now old and relatively financially stable, I still have issues- I want to feed everyone who comes into my home (to the point of obesity in my child to my shame) I can’t eat certain refrigerated things based off differing criteria -I know 100% because our electricity was always being turned off. When I read about her imposter syndrome yesterday I knew poverty and hunger played into that but actually started crying when I tried to comment thinking about my past. I just love her and am so happy for her,she deserves every bit of success and happiness!
@ Eriba … I am sending you a big hug and lots of love. Please remember that you are WORTHY and DESERVE everything you have as well! Tell yourself that daily until it sticks.
On a shallow note, she’s as stylish off the red carpet as on it. Gorgeous woman.
Gorgeous woman. Love her street clothes too. But I can’t stand that wig.
VIOLA. I mean, I think every actor who talks about humility and coming from nothing should take a read over what Viola has to say about her childhood and reassess themselves.
Beautiful, gracious, passionate, a powerful orator, great style, tremendous humility…she’s basically perfect. Can she run for president next?
She deserves everything she’s gotten, and more.
there is no reason for this (people desperately hungry and living in squalor) to be happening in america. our government continues to fail on staggering levels. they will keep the tax code so convoluted we as a people can’t figure out there is PLENTY of tax revenue being collected to pay to take care of our people but instead we continue to support the extremely wealthy 1%. smh.
she is truly exceptional.
I have a real question. Why *is* this happening? We have free housing (not just projects but regular apartments with a certain % set aside for government-paid- I know because my building had this and was required to by the state), WIC, ebt, actual financial amounts/allotments each month, free tuition, free school lunches, vocational training, free state health insurance with no copayment, etc.. Why would anyone have to live in a boarded up building? At the very least, why this housing situation? Honest question.
I think you’re mentioning lots of resources that are available today. Viola grew up in the 60s and 70s and maybe certain programs and opportunities were not available back then.
Thank you @AlmondJoy either way I love viola and it breaks my heart to think of innocent children and people in general living like that. I’m happy for her success ❤
these are good and fair questions.
many people are barely scraping by with all of the assistance you mention. there are severe restrictions and long waits and many hoops to jump through to get help.
and remember if you are just $1 in earned income over what the government decides is suitable for assistance you receive NO assistance. it only takes $1. and don’t get me started about how the poverty line really hasn’t been adjusted for inflation.
so many people are caught in a vicious cycle of poverty.
it is shameful and inexcusable our government wants to brag how wealthy and powerful USA is yet we can’t even make sure kids that receive free food at school don’t have to steal or worse, dumpster dive, to get food during the summer.
they keep giving the super wealthy all the breaks while a struggling and shrinking middle class carries almost the entire burden of providing revenue to the government which then turns around and props up wealthy entities (banks insurance etc) with money that should be spent on providing care for our most vulnerable.
it is so short sighted and depressing when you look at it rationally because a little care/support in the beginning keeps people from having to be “cared” for indefinitely.
Matomeda, I feel the same.
Poppy: You describe it best by mentioning that many people are stuck in this “vicious cycle of poverty.” That’s exactly what it is. And most times there’s no easy way out.
Even with programs, these conditions still exist.
I love this woman so much. I feel like she also reminds me that we really don’t often take into account how strange it must be for some of the celebrities who grew up legitimately poor and then came to fame “later” (Viola Davis, Amy Adams….who else?? ) to have to share the same company all the time as people who grew up wealthy or are the children of celebrities or grew up with connections and money and had education laid out for them. The imposter syndrome must be so incredibly strong because you are constantly surrounded by people who are sort of in your same “Crowd” but not really because they came from very different circumstances. How do you relate to those people? How do you see them at parties or premieres and pretend you are the same as them when you know deep down in your heart that you are not? We don’t talk enough about how a privileged background gives people a leg up not just in every industry but in Hollywood too and how it MUST affect confidence and the way you perceive yourself. I love Viola so much and she deserves every single thing she has.
What I don’t understand is why have 5 kids when you can’t even afford to feed one? I mean, things worked out for Viola, but it could have gone another way too. She is talented for sure and one of my fav actresses. I just never understood the reason why some people choose to keep having kids when you can’t even afford to feed them. It’s horrible imagining kids diving into dumpsters to look for food.
Irresponsibility.
Not necessarily. My parents had 5 kids in 10 years. Things were tight, tense, & difficult at times, but they took care of us the best they could under the circumstances.
Part of it was youth, failed BC, & a lot of accidents lol
Long story short we’re all educated, creative, strong, responsible adults now & a lot of what’s made us who we are, is what we were.
To just label it as irresponsibility, is rather condescending & dismissive.
Because you’re talking about a time period where women had limited access to birth control/abortion and a culture that promoted the idea that sexual availability was a responsibility to the husband. (For that matter, there are still states today that don’t recognize marital rape.) It’s also entirely possible they weren’t always in such dire poverty to begin with.
If it was only the time period, how come there are still couples/parents out there who live in poverty (whether absolute or relative) and who keep having children? My grandmother had 9 siblings and was a child during the WW2 and she said they never really went hungry except for when they had to ration during the war. Her parents put their lives on the line just to get some bread and butter which was a luxury more than a necessity. But otherwise? The kids ALL went to school every day and to church every Sunday and had food on their plate every day. Most of the siblings had their own houses and had steady jobs later in life. And many people were able to provide enough food for their large families to survive the war without government support like in the modern times.
When my grandmother fell pregnant at 21 and didn’t have extra money (she did have a house, job etc), she turned every nickel around 4 times and stopped buying meat for months on end so she could save up money. Never took money from the government even though she could have (not that I applaud pride but she made it work regardless).
Too many kids have parents who just don’t care (not aimed at Viola’s parents) and who are bad at budgeting. Short-term goals with devastating consequences. Too many parents who overestimated the effort it takes to raise a child. Too many parents who are just stupid and don’t learn from their mistakes. If a parent finds parenting hard, get some birth control for god’s sake and stop blaming the kids for your ‘hard’ life, they didn’t ask to be born after all. Too many kids with parents who never worked a day in their life and live of the government and still bloody well fail to provide them a decent life (educational values, personal values and basic needs like food and a home). There are too many kids in the system in modern times to blame time period and too many invisible neglected kids who will become what they were taught, sadly. It’s always humans/individuals and the situations they don’t deal with imo…
@Artemis
Good for your grandma. She deserves a medal for not needing help. Is that what you want to here?
Having many children when you can’t afford to feed, shelter, and be protective in the essential ways of all of them seems like the height of selfishness to me.
No words to express how in awe of and inspired by her I am. Love Viola to pieces.
Hi @matomeda, it’s true that there are some government support programs but they are not as generous as you may think or easy to access. Where I live, the wait to get into subsidized housing (where rent is a portion of your income and if you have no income you pay nothing) takes years and years. We have a housing crisis where there isn’t enough affordable housing so people will move into horrible slum lord houses bc the rent is cheaper. Medicaid is the state run ‘free’ healthcare program but prior to the aca/Obamacare there was not enough money for every poor person to access it, access in my state was based on a lottery. Even now many republican states chose not to accept extra federal dollars to ensure that all prole below the poverty line could get covered. Also some states, like Indiana, charge a monthly premium and if you don’t pay you are kicked off. Working in social services it is known that ebt/foodstamps don’t last the month for alot of families and wic is great but it only applies to certain government approved foods. Free school lunches are great a program that devoss better keep her hands off of, but it’s known that these same kids may go hungry on the weekend and some communities have food in a backpack programs to address that. Lastly there really aren’t that many cash handout programs. You may be thinking of welfare however my understanding is that bill clinton in 96 overhauled the system to reduce the amount of benefts, create a time limit, work requirements, etc. Plus while there is free public school, there isn’t free childcare or paid maternity leave. On top of all this these systems are complicated! It’s not easy staying on top of all that if your part of the working poor, have kids, mental health issues etc. Lastly resources look different in different communities and racism, structural systems that marginalized communities (redlining, employer and landlord discrimination). Can’t forget about the childwelfare system too! It does some good but it also has some bad history and current practices that culminate in child removals from parents/homes that may make someone who really needs assistance, fearful of seeking it out in case the state wants to take their kid away for an unsafe home environment.
you explain it better than i ever could hope to!
And if the family is intact (2 non-disabled parents), the family does not qualify for welfare. Food stamps, yes, but not welfare
Dare to have the confidence of a mediocre white man! That quote, and really paying attention to the men around me in the past couple of years, has helped me get over my imposter syndrome issues. Hopefully Viola will get there too because she is everything that is amazing!!
Sounder!! But that’s what we need in life!
Imposter syndrome is the same as Stockholm Syndrome!!Never seen a self hating self degrading human being that needs to be accepted so bad in white hollywood that ever story has to be about how awful life was until she was helped by that mediocre white man by giving her a break casting her for her breakout role as a docile,humble MAID!! SMH!!
I think a lot of people would be shocked to realize this kind of poverty still exists in the US, but it’s not as far away as we’d like to think. Plenty of urban slums exist, much less getting into the kind of infrastructure that’s lacking in the depths of rural America. I was fortunate to avoid that experience growing up. My mother’s family was not.
Thanks VD! Feed the white house troll with a kneepad cover of y black america needs a savior.
This is a long shot but I hope Viola Davis reads these comments. Her talking about poverty in America and initiating a dialogue like the one in these comments is important. Poverty in America is real, and when the federal government cuts meals at schools it is critical to remember that there are children all over this country who are impacted every. single. day – every hour of the day that they sit in classrooms going hungry – by these choices. Ms. Davis is very courageous to share her story.