WCW: Viola Davis

Viola Davis is a trailblazer not only in her career, style, and beauty, but also with her character! She is not afraid of risks and this quality has given her much success. As we celebrate her and her 50th birthday (which was yesterday), we celebrate her courage to be who she is without apology. Though we love her characters in TV shows like How To Get Away With Murder and movies like the critically acclaimed film The Help, Viola is no fly by night actress. She may be an A list leading lady now, but she have been in 40+ TV shows and movies. Talk about perseverance!

Davis has also been casted to play Harriet Tubman in the upcoming HBO film by Steven Spielburg. Though I believe Harriet's story belongs on the big screen, knowing that an actress that has defied all of Hollywood's unwritten rules makes it more acceptable. As we all know.(except Porsha from the Real Housewives of Atlanta and Dish Nation - we still love you girl!), Harriet was an intricate part of developing the Underground Railroad. Her courage not only help slaves escape the South to gain their freedom in the North, but she also worked with whites that were willing to risk their livelihoods to empower those without power. It is also rumored that Harriet was a spy for the Union army. She was able to maintain her identity and worked with those who were perceived to be the enemy to catapult change. I believe that Viola embodies that same spirit!

We are not fighting the same enemies as before; rather the beliefs and behaviors that have been ingrained into our American culture. Strength is not just in our hands, but in the minds' that seek to rise above those options that we can physically grasp. I salute you Ms. Davis! Thank you for opening doors that my generation will be able to gracefully walk through.