ATLANTA — Actress Jasmine Guy resembles the sun in that she warms everyone around her with her bright smile, enchanting personality and humanitarianism.
The Emmy Award-winning actress rocketed to national fame when she played the opposite of her real-life persona, the narcissistic and egomaniacal character Whitley Gilbert, in the seminal sitcom “A Different World” in the late 1980s.
Jasmine Guy has always been an active advocate for justice and equality
Fame notwithstanding, Guy has always been a strong proponent of freedom, justice, and equality, which is one of the reasons she was in attendance at the Martin Luther King Jr. Beloved Community Awards at the Omni Hotel in downtown Atlanta on Jan. 18, 2024.
The actress, singer, dancer, and director explained how young people can honor the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. during his annual national observance and beyond.
“I think it starts like a target. It starts in your home. It starts in how we talk to our children and how we raise our children,” said Guy, who also attained renown for her starring roles in Spike Lee’s School Daze and Eddie Murphy’s Harlem Nights. “And do we agree in how we’re raising these babies? Because sometimes, you know, [there may be] different factors that happen.”
Jasmine Guy said parents have to teach their children about our iconic freedom fighters
It is incumbent upon parents, Guy says, to inculcate their children with the knowledge of the freedom fighters of yesteryear. When children know the sacrifices and struggles that many endured so that we could enjoy the rights we have today, they can take the metaphorical baton and keep forging forward in the quest for a just and balanced society.
“I think the more our children know, the more they can accommodate when they go out into the real world. I think history is very important,” Guy continued. “It was the foundation of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X that I was raised on.”
It is imperative to add to the legacy of our ancestors
Guy adds that millennials should be charged with carrying on the powerful legacy bequeathed by our ancestors and use it like a tool to plow fearlessly into the future.
“I wasn’t even born yet, so I’m just saying that just because you weren’t here doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, and it doesn’t mean you don’t have [anything] to learn from it and to bring with you. That is the sacrifice of our ancestors, that we take what they did and go forth with it.”
