“All American” star Karimah Westbrook is on what appears to be a smooth character journey.
Rolling out spoke with Westbrook to discuss season three of the hit CW show and how corporate America was nearly her final destination instead of the arts.
Things seem to be better for Grace. The boys are back, and she’s doing some new things at South Crenshaw. Will she continue to have an upward trend in season 3?
Outside of the new principal at South Crenshaw, things are going pretty well for the family. I think Grace is happy Spencer and her son are back at home with her for the most part. But it’s unfortunate what’s happening with the school. With him coming back to play at South Crenshaw, we’re hoping that it will help garner more attention from bigger colleges to look at the players to bring more value to the school. Also, with Grace beginning the community garden project, that’s a win for her. Although there are some bumps in the road, I feel that things are a lot better beyond the point when Corey passed away.
Were there bumps in the road for you in Chicago when you sought the creative path?
When I was younger, I was into the arts, but in high school, I was more into sports. My mom was very much like, “you need to have school, a real job.” So not as supportive as I would have liked.
I think for a lot of parents, there’s an idea of what’s the safest route. But, before I left Chicago, I started doing plays and independent films. I went through this weird phase where everyone around me was more corporate. I think her concern was wanting me to have a more stable life, but there wasn’t a whole lot of support around the arts. But I did it anyway.
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